[Korean Culture & Language] Orange, banana, apple


Hello, this is Uptempo!

Below is a ‘과일로 고백하는 노래 (confessing song with fruit)’ by 셀프어쿠스틱 (Selfacoustic) who has 1.81M subscribers on YouTube.


The lyrics are as follows:

연애한지 얼마나 오렌지
It’s been so long since I’ve dated someone

  • ‘오렌지’ originally refers to ‘Orange(s)’ but here, it’s used as ‘It’s been so long’.
    To spell it correctly, you should write ‘오랜지’ to mean ‘it’s been so long’.
    Ex) 오렌지(Orange)를 먹은 지 얼마나 오랜지(been so long)
    It’s been so long since I’ve had an orange.

니가 내가 이쁘냐고 묻는다면
If you were to ask whether you’re beautiful

내 대답은 그래 이뻐
My answer is ‘Yes, you are’.

이렇게 말한다면 나에게 바나나
Will you have a crush on me if I say this?

  • ‘바나나’ means ‘banana’. However, because ‘반하나,’ which means ‘will you have a crush,’ sounds like ‘바나나,’ the word ‘바나나’ is often substituted for ‘반하나’ as a joke.

썰렁하면 받아 내 사과나
Please accept my apology if that wasn’t funny.

이제 망설이지 말고 망고 고백할 수밖에
I don’t have any other option except to confess my love to you without hesitation.

  • ‘말고’ means ‘without’ or ‘don’t’. ‘망고’ means ‘mango’. Because ‘말고’ and ‘망고’ sound similar, some people use ‘망고’ instead of ‘말고’ to be funny.

머리털이 파프리카 될 때까지 너를 사랑해
I’ll love you until my hair becomes paprika. 

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

[Korean Culture & Language] Impulsiveness and MBTI

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become increasingly popular in Korea in 2020, owing to people’s boredom due to the COVID-19 quarantine. Since the spring, MBTI feeds have been readily available on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.   Below is a popular meme titled ‘ #MBTI 충동 (MBTI Impulsiveness) ’. This meme jokingly illustrates how ‘ 충동적인 (impulsive)’ each MBTI types are.   https://ddnews.co.kr/mbti-%EC%A7%A4-%EB%B0%88/ It reads: 전혀 충동적이지 않음 (Not impulsive at all): ENTJ, ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ 평균적으로 충동적임 (Average impulsivity): INTJ, INFJ, ENFJ, ESFJ 너무 충동적 (Very impulsive): INTP, INFP, ISTP, ISFP 엄청나게 충동적 (Extremely impulsive): ENTP, ENFP, ESTP, ESFP 전혀 means ‘ not at all ,’ 평균적으로 means ‘ to an average level ,’ 너무 means ‘ very , ’ 엄청나게 means ‘ extremely ’.   The above meme is another illustration of impulsiveness by MBTI types. ENFP says “ 요즘 자수가 너무 배우고 싶어 (I want to learn how to embroider). 근데 나 소묘도 배워...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Switching between the liver and the gallbladder

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! “Saving face” has always been a very important part of Korean culture. Most Koreans try hard to “ 체면을 세우다 (build one’s face),” and “ 체면을 지키다 (maintain one’s face),” and not to “ 체면을 잃다 or 체면을 구기다 (lose one’s face).” ‘ 세우다 ’ means ‘to build’ ‘ 지키다 ’ means ‘to keep’ ‘ 잃다 ’ means ‘to lose’ ‘ 구기다 ’ means ‘to crumple’ or ‘to damage’ ‘Saving one’s face’ means ‘to build one’s reputation,’ ‘maintaining’ one’s face’ means ‘to keep one’s reputation,” and ‘losing one’s face’ means ‘to lose or damage one’s reputation.’ However, some people are more concerned about their profit than “saving or maintaining their face.” They “ 간에 붙었다 쓸개에 붙었다 한다. ” ‘ 간 ’ means ‘liver’ ‘ 붙다 ’ means ‘to stick’ ‘ 쓸개 ’ means ‘gallbladder’ It is directly translated to “It sticks to the liver for a second and then moves to the gallbladder to stick to it for another.” It describes the behavior of someone who switches between two opposing teams or groups for completely selfish reasons. The...
자세한 내용 보기

[Korean Culture & Language] Washing one's Identity

이미지
Hello, this is Uptempo! In July 2021, a Chinese man in his 50s got arrested for killing two people in China and fleeing to Korea. It took years to catch him because he has ‘ 신분세탁 (washed his identity) ’ . Photo by   Jeremy Sallee   on   Unsplash https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/24104555#home According to Korea JoongAng Daily, this murderer killed two people in Yantai, Shandong Province, China in 1987, when he was 20. While hiding in China, he made a new passport after ‘ 신분세탁 (washing his identification) ’. He entered Korea in 2016, and has obtained a permanent residency (F5) visa by marrying a Chinese woman who had obtained Korean citizenship a while back. The term 신분세탁 (Washing one’s identity) refers to a person’s attempt to conceal their prior identity to rebuild a new life . Prostitutes and ex-convicts, for example, are likely to strive to 신분세탁 (rebuild their lives by concealing the fact that they have ever committed a crime or worked as a prostitute).   Belo...
자세한 내용 보기