{"id":78859,"date":"2018-10-03T17:57:27","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T21:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/kpop-lyrics-hangul-and-translation\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T08:57:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T13:57:37","slug":"kpop-lyrics-hangul-and-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/korean\/kpop-lyrics-hangul-and-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"10 K-Pop Song Lyrics with Hangul and English Translations"},"content":{"rendered":"

K-pop is increasingly popular in contemporary music culture and is known for the rollicking beats and seamless choreography of artists like BTS, EXO and Blackpink. And many K-pop fans eventually develop an interest in learning Korean in order to connect more closely with their favorite idols.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’ll look at 10 fantastic K-pop songs that are great for learners, along with their Hangul<\/a> lyrics and translations. Learn how you can take advantage of readily available Korean song lyrics and translations online to make your Korean sparkle and shine.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n

1. “\ubb34\uc81c(\u7121\u984c) (Untitled, 2014)”<\/a> by G-Dragon<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uc81c\ubc1c \ub2e8 \ud55c \ubc88\uc774\ub77c\ub3c4
\n\ub108\ub97c \ubcfc \uc218 \uc788\ub2e4\uba74
\n\ub0b4 \ubaa8\ub4e0 \uac78 \ub2e4 \uc783\uc5b4\ub3c4 \uad1c\ucc2e\uc544
\n\uafc8\uc5d0\uc11c\ub77c\ub3c4 \ub108\ub97c \ub9cc\ub098
\n\ub2e4\uc2dc \uc0ac\ub791\ud558\uae30\ub97c
\n\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc774\ub300\ub85c<\/p>\n

(Please, just one more time
\nIf I see you
\nI can lose everything I own, I wouldn’t care
\nEven if I see you in my dreams
\nTo love you again
\nJust us, like this)<\/p>\n

This beautiful, pared-back song of lost love is an excellent choice for learning Korean through K-pop lyrics. The barely-held-back emotion in Kwon Ji-yong’s voice expresses deeply the lyrics’ themes of regret, remorse and heartbreak, and the slower speed and clear enunciation make the lyrics quite easy to hear.<\/p>\n

Unlike most popular K-pop songs, “Untitled, 2014” uses the simple instrumental backing of a crisp piano accompaniment, meaning that there’s no interference from the production to distract from the raw and honest lyrics.<\/p>\n

A lyric video is available for this song on YouTube<\/a>, and Color Coded Lyrics<\/a>\u00a0in Hangul and an English translation further down the page.<\/p>\n

2. “\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc0ac\ub791\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc544\uc694 (Let’s Not Fall in Love)”<\/a> by Big Bang<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc0ac\ub791\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc544\uc694
\n\uc544\uc9c1\uc740 \uc798 \ubaa8\ub974\uc796\uc544\uc694
\n\uc0ac\uc2e4 \uc870\uae08\uc740 \ub450\ub824\uc6b4 \uac70\uc57c
\n\uadf8\ub300 \ubbf8\uc548\ud574\uc694
\n\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc57d\uc18d\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc544\uc694
\n\ub0b4\uc77c\uc740 \ub610 \ubaa8\ub974\uc796\uc544\uc694
\n\ud558\uc9c0\ub9cc \uc774 \ub9d0\ub9cc\uc740 \uc9c4\uc2ec\uc774\uc57c \uadf8\ub300 \uc88b\uc544\ud574\uc694<\/p>\n

(Let’s not fall in love,
\nI don’t know just yet
\nActually, I’m a little scared
\nI’m sorry
\nLet’s not make promises,
\nWe won’t know tomorrow either
\nBut it’s true when I say “I like you”)<\/p>\n

As discussed in my example earlier, this song is an excellent choice for a beginner Korean learner, thanks to the prevalence of simple grammar, and the song’s slow pace and repetition of key lyrics make it quite manageable for those learners not very familiar with listening to spoken Korean.<\/p>\n

Check out the lyric video on YouTube<\/a>, and musixmatch<\/a> for the lyrics in Hangul and English, with some Romanization.<\/p>\n

3. “\uc0ac\ub791\uc744 \ud588\ub2e4 (Love Scenario)”<\/a> by iKON<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uc0ac\ub791\uc744 \ud588\ub2e4
\n\uc6b0\ub9ac\uac00 \ub9cc\ub098
\n\uc9c0\uc6b0\uc9c0 \ubabb\ud560 \ucd94\uc5b5\uc774 \ub410\ub2e4
\n\ubcfc \ub9cc\ud55c \uba5c\ub85c\ub4dc\ub77c\ub9c8
\n\uad1c\ucc2e\uc740 \uacb0\ub9d0
\n\uadf8\uac70\uba74 \ub410\ub2e4 \ub110
\n\uc0ac\ub791\ud588\ub2e4<\/p>\n

(I have loved:
\nWe met,
\nThe memory can’t be erased
\nA melodrama worth watching
\nNot a bad ending
\nThat’s all it was
\nI loved you)<\/p>\n

Anyone who has heard this song can agree that the melody can get stuck in your head for\u00a0days<\/em>. This may get annoying for your friends, but a catchy melody such as this is perfect for repeating key phrases in your head over, and over, and over and over again.<\/p>\n

There’s a lyric video for “Love Scenario”<\/a> on YouTube, and Genius provides the lyrics in Hangul<\/a> and an English translation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. “Stay With Me”<\/a> by Chanyeol and Punch<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\ub098\uc758 \ub450 \ub208\uc744 \uac10\uc73c\uba74
\n\ub5a0\uc624\ub974\ub294 \uadf8 \ub208\ub3d9\uc790
\n\uc790\uafb8 \uac00\uc2b4\uc774 \uc2dc\ub824\uc11c
\n\uc78a\ud600\uc9c0\uae38 \ubc14\ub7ac\uc5b4
\n\uafc8\uc774\ub77c\uba74 \uc774\uc81c \uae68\uc5b4\ub0ac\uc73c\uba74 \uc81c\ubc1c
\n\uc815\ub9d0 \ub124\uac00 \ub098\uc758 \uc6b4\uba85\uc778 \uac78\uae4c
\n\ub10c Falling You<\/p>\n

(Whenever I close my eyes
\nThose eyes are floating before me
\nMy heart keeps trying
\nI wanted to forget the pain before
\nIf this is a dream, please wake me up
\nIs this our destiny?
\nYou, Falling You)<\/p>\n

The slow and oft-repeated lyrics make this another great starting song for your listening gap fill exercises, and the singers’ clear enunciation makes it far easier to pick out individual words and phrases in this song than in many others. This song has also been very simply produced, putting the lyrics forward for easy listening.<\/p>\n

Find the lyric video<\/a> on YouTube, and the lyrics provided<\/a> on Genius in Hangul and Romanized Korean, with an English translation and pronunciation guide.<\/p>\n

5. “Come Back Home”<\/a> by 2NE1<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uc544\ubb34 \ub300\ub2f5 \uc5c6\ub294 \ub2c8\uac00 \ub108\ubb34 \ubc09\uc9c0\ub9cc
\n\uac00\ub054\uc740 \ub108\ub3c4 \ub098\ub97c \uadf8\ub9ac\uc6cc\ud560\uae4c yeah
\n\ub108 \uc5c6\ub294 \uc2dc\uac04 \uc18d\uc5d0 \uac07\ud600 \ubc84\ub9b0 \ub09c
\n\uc55e\uc744 \ubcfc \uc218\uac00 \uc5c6\uc5b4 \ub108\ubb34 \ub450\ub824\uc6cc
\n\uc544\uc9c1\ub3c4 \ubabb\ub2e4 \ud55c \ub9ce\uc740 \ub0a0\ub4e4\uc774
\n\uae30\ub2e4\ub9ac\uace0 \uc788\uc744 \uac83\ub9cc \uac19\uc544
\n\ub108\ub294 \uc5b4\ub514\uc5d0
\n\uc5b4\ub514\uc5d0 too far away<\/p>\n

(You never answer me, I hate it
\nSometimes I wonder if you miss me too
\nI’m stuck in this time without you
\nI can’t see ahead, and I’m so scared
\nAnd there are still so many days
\nWaiting, just like this
\nWhere are you?
\nWhere? Too far away)<\/p>\n

Who can forget the original bad girls of K-pop, the irreplaceable 2NE1? The slow-paced lyrics sprinkled liberally with English, and the relatively simple production of this song make for another great option for beginner Korean learners.<\/p>\n

Check out the lyric video<\/a> on YouTube, as well as\u00a0the lyrics in Hangul<\/a> and the English translation<\/a> both on Genius.<\/p>\n

6. “Kingdom Come”<\/a> by Red Velvet<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uc624\uc9c1 \ub098\uc5d0\uac8c\ub9cc \ud3bc\uccd0\uc838
\n\uc628\ud1b5 \ub108\ub85c \ub0a0 \ubb3c\ub4e4\uc5ec
\n\ub0b4 \ub9d8\uc744 \uac00\ub4dd \ucc44\uc6cc
\nBaby I will love you till kingdom come
\n\uafc8\uc5d0\uc11c \uae68\uc9c0 \uc54a\uc744\ub798 Baby
\n\uc601\uc6d0\ud1a0\ub85d I got you, you got me
\nLove you till kingdom come<\/p>\n

(You only open like this for me
\nMy colors all over you
\nMy heart is filled with you
\nBaby I will love you till kingdom come
\nI won’t wake from this dream baby
\nForever, I got you, you got me
\nLove you till kingdom come)<\/p>\n

Red Velvet’s second album, full of lyrics of darkness and desire, makes it very clear that these girls are growing up and not sugar-sweet anymore. This lesser-known song has a slow enough pace for most learners, but the passionate lyrics contain a lot of specific vocab, and the only lyrical repetition is in the chorus, making this a great option for an intermediate listening exercise.<\/p>\n

There’s no official music video for this song, but a lyric video is available on YouTube<\/a> and Genius provides the lyrics in Hangul<\/a> and an English translation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. “Way Back Home”<\/a> by SHAUN<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uba48\ucd98 \uc2dc\uac04 \uc18d \uc7a0\ub4e0 \ub108\ub97c \ucc3e\uc544\uac00
\n\uc544\ubb34\ub9ac \ub9c9\uc544\ub3c4 \uacb0\uad6d \ub108\uc758 \uacc1\uc778 \uac78
\n\uae38\uace0 \uae34 \uc5ec\ud589\uc744 \ub05d\ub0b4 \uc774\uc820 \ub3cc\uc544\uac00
\n\ub108\ub77c\ub294 \uc9d1\uc73c\ub85c \uc9c0\uae08 \ub2e4\uc2dc way back home<\/p>\n

(Time stops and I go to you
\nNo matter what, I always end up next to you
\nMy long, long journey over, now I return
\nHome to you again,\u00a0way back home)<\/p>\n

This laid-back, summery song about love chased time and time again around the world has a reasonably slow pace but quite complex and varying lyrics, making this another great option for an intermediate-level lyric challenge.<\/p>\n

This song wasn’t released as a single so there’s no official music video. However, there is an official lyric video<\/a> with the lyrics in Hangul, and an unofficial video<\/a> that provides the lyrics in Hangul and Romanized Korean and English translation. You can find the Hangul lyrics written out here<\/a> and an English translation provided here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8. “Dinner”<\/a> by Suho and Jane Jang<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\ub531 \uc54c\ub9de\uac8c \ub5a8\uc5b4\uc838 Dinner so fine
\n\uc774 \uc775\uc219\ud55c \uc800\ub141 \uc2dd\uc0ac Could be fly
\n\ubb34\uac10\uac01\ud574\uc838 \uac00
\nSo gotta be so blah
\n\ub531 \uc54c\ub9de\uac8c \uba40\uc5b4\uc838 Cuz I’m so fine
\n\uc774 \ud14c\uc774\ube14\ub9cc\ud07c \uac70\ub9b4 Could be so fly
\n\ubb34\uac10\uac01\ud574\uc838 \ub098
\nSo gonna be so dry<\/p>\n

(Perfect distance apart, dinner so fine
\nThis familiar dinner\u00a0could be fly
\nI feel so numb
\nSo gotta be so blah
\nPerfect distance apart cuz I’m so fine
\nAs long as the table, could be so fly
\nI feel so numb
\nSo gonna be so dry)<\/p>\n

This soothing, rainy-evening song tells the sad story of a couple for whom the spark has long since died. They meet for dinner, as they always have, but they seem far apart and disconnected across the table. As the night wears on, they drink wine and eat well, but grow sadder and more distant.<\/p>\n

The slow pace may make this song seem like an easy choice at first, but the storytelling style of the lyrics make them surprising and intriguing, and there’s very little repetition aside from the chorus. Lower-level learners could use this song to practice listening for time words in Korean, as each verse opens with the time as the dinner wears on into the night.<\/p>\n

Check out the\u00a0lyric video<\/a> on YouTube, and the Hangul and Romanized lyrics<\/a> on Genius. You can find an English translation of the lyrics here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. “\ud314\ub808\ud2b8 (Palette)”<\/a> by IU and G-Dragon<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

Palette, \uc77c\uae30, \uc7a0\ub4e4\uc5c8\ub358 \uc2dc\uac04\ub4e4
\nI like it, I’m twenty five
\n\ub0a0 \uc88b\uc544\ud558\ub294 \uac70 \uc54c\uc544
\nI got this, I’m truly fine
\n\uc774\uc81c \uc870\uae08 \uc54c \uac83 \uac19\uc544 \ub0a0
\n(\uc544\uc9c1 \ud560 \ub9d0\uc774 \ub9ce\uc544)
\nI like it, I’m twenty five
\n\ub0a0 \ubbf8\uc6cc\ud558\ub294 \uac70 \uc54c\uc544
\nI got this, I’ve truly found
\n\uc774\uc81c \uc870\uae08 \uc54c \uac83 \uac19\uc544 \ub0a0<\/p>\n

(Palette, diaries, times I was asleep
\nI like it, I’m twenty five
\nI know you like me
\nI got this, I’m truly fine
\nI know myself a little better now
\n(Still have so much to say)
\nI like it, I’m twenty five
\nI know you hate me
\nI got this, I’ve truly found
\nI know myself a little better now)<\/p>\n

The lyrics to this song will resonate with many people in their early twenties who are only just beginning to fully understand themselves and what adult life is really going to be like. IU’s vocals are slow and clear, but G-Dragon’s rap verse provides a faster and more complex listening challenge for higher-level Korean learners.<\/p>\n

Find the lyric video<\/a> on YouTube, and the lyrics in Hangul and Romanized Korean<\/a>, as well as an English translation, on Genius.<\/p>\n

10. “DNA”<\/a> by BTS\u00a0(\ubc29\ud0c4\uc18c\ub144\ub2e8)<\/h2>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\uc6b0\uc8fc\uac00 \uc0dd\uae34 \uadf8 \ub0a0\ubd80\ud130 \uacc4\uc18d
\n\ubb34\ud55c\uc758 \uc138\uae30\ub97c \ub118\uc5b4\uc11c \uacc4\uc18d
\n\uc6b0\ub9b0 \uc804\uc0dd\uc5d0\ub3c4 \uc544\ub9c8 \ub2e4\uc74c \uc0dd\uc5d0\ub3c4
\n\uc601\uc6d0\ud788 \ud568\uaed8\ub2c8\uae4c
\n\uc774 \ubaa8\ub4e0 \uac74 \uc6b0\uc5f0\uc774 \uc544\ub2c8\ub2c8\uae4c
\n\uc6b4\uba85\uc744 \ucc3e\uc544\ub0b8 \ub458\uc774\ub2c8\uae4c
\nDNA<\/p>\n

(From the day the universe began
\nThrough the infinite centuries
\nIn all our lives before and maybe the next
\nWe’re together forever
\nThis is no coincidence
\nBecause we’re the two who found fate
\nDNA)<\/p>\n

BTS are inarguably the kings of meaningful and interesting lyrics in K-pop, and really any of their songs make for a great option for lyric learning, but as “DNA” is a much faster song than the others on this list, it can provide a much higher challenge for advanced learners of Korean.<\/p>\n

Find the lyric video<\/a> on YouTube, and the Hangul lyrics<\/a> and English translation<\/a> on Genius.<\/p>\n

How to Use K-pop Lyrics to Learn Korean<\/h2>\n

Language learners often find it really challenging to practice and feel confident in their listening skills<\/a>. There are many interesting and immersive ways to improve listening skills<\/a>, but using K-pop lyrics is my favorite.<\/p>\n

Beyond simply listening to songs and reading along to learn the lyrics, you can use K-pop to make some really effective listening exercises, as you can see in our video lesson<\/a> below:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

Make your own gap fills<\/h3>\n

Gap fill exercises are used to great effect by many language teachers, as they’re an excellent way to practice both the receptive listening skill and the productive writing skill at the same time.<\/p>\n

Create your own gap fill worksheet by printing or writing out the lyrics to a K-pop song in Hangul,<\/strong> leaving some gaps in the lyrics to fill in as you listen to the song.<\/p>\n

Focus your gaps on lyrics that cover vocabulary or grammar points that you’re currently learning, so that they’re meaningful to you beyond just the sounds.<\/p>\n

For example, a beginner Korean learner could make a great gap fill using the lyrics to Big Bang’s ballad “Let’s Not Fall in Love.”<\/p>\n

Create gaps around grammar patterns you want to practice; for example, in the lyrics “\ub300\ub2f5\ud560 \uc218 \uc5c6\uc5b4\uc694 (I can’t answer),” you could make a gap in place of “\ud560 \uc218 \uc5c6\uc5b4\uc694 (I can’t do it),” and in the line “\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc0ac\ub791\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc544\uc694 (let’s not fall in love)” blank out “\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc544\uc694 (don’t do it).”<\/p>\n

The chorus in the worksheet could look something like this (see list below for the complete translation):<\/p>\n

\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc0ac\ub791_____
\n\uc544\uc9c1\uc740 \uc798 \ubaa8\ub974\uc796\uc544\uc694
\n\uc0ac\uc2e4 _____\uc740 \ub450\ub824\uc6b4 \uac70\uc57c \uadf8\ub300 _____
\n\uc6b0\ub9ac \uc57d\uc18d\ud558\uc9c0 \ub9d0\uc544\uc694
\n_____\uc740 \ub610 \ubaa8\ub974\uc796\uc544\uc694
\n_____ \uc774 \ub9d0\ub9cc\uc740 \uc9c4\uc2ec\uc774\uc57c
\n\uadf8\ub300 \uc88b\uc544\ud574\uc694<\/p>\n

Then listen to the song as many times as necessary to fill in the gaps with the correct lyrics. And it’ll take a lot of listening, especially the first few times you try this exercise, so choose a song you really like!<\/p>\n

Write the answers by hand, and use a pencil so that you can erase them and fill the gaps again as many times as you like. Very soon, you’ll find that you can recognize those words and grammar patterns in speech very naturally.<\/p>\n

Translate lyrics yourself<\/h3>\n

For a much higher challenge, more advanced Korean learners can try translating songs on their own.<\/p>\n

Of course, English translations are available for most popular K-pop songs now, but song lyrics are a perfect place to start trying to translate Korean into your native language. They’re short and often repetitive, and generally use simple language and grammar patterns, making for a far simpler task than trying to translate a short story or blog post.<\/p>\n

Translating is about much more than typing word-by-word into Google Translate. You need to take into account the entire context of a word, including the vocabulary and grammar around it in the sentence\u2014and in the case of song lyrics, even the style of the melody and the singer’s tone and expression.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself questions as you read<\/strong>, and particularly when you reach a word or phrase that you don’t understand: What is the basic meaning of this song? What about this verse? What was the meaning of the sentence preceding this one, and what about the one that comes after it? Can you work out the basic meaning of the sentence containing this new word?<\/p>\n

Reading “in context” will help immeasurably<\/strong> in improving your ability to work out the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, without needing to rely on Google Translate to help you understand and translate.<\/p>\n

When you’re finished, compare your translation with ones provided online. For instance, the expert-vetted video transcripts on FluentU<\/a> can be a reliable source for your favorite Korean song lyrics.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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