English translation and Korean lesson with the lyrics of Trivia 承: Love by BTS, from the 2018 album Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’.
Produced by: Slow Rabbit
Written by: Slow Rabbit, RM, Hiss Noise
Find it here: Youtube • Spotify • Apple Music • Amazon Music
Language Note:
This song is basically Namjoon being a huge nerd about language, which endears him to me as a fellow language nerd. There are 3 sets of words that he plays with because of their similarities:
1: 사랑 (love) & 사람 (a person/people). He plays not just with the pronunciation, but the actual shape and appearance of the word – the letter in the 받침, or bottom position, particularly.
2: The English words “live” & “love”.
3: 내 (I/me/my) & 네 (you/your). Technically these two Korean words are pronounced identically. They didn’t used to be, but with the evolution of the Korean language over time, theㅐ andㅔ vowel sounds have become virtually indistinguishable from one another. In order to differentiate between 내 and 네 in spoken language, 네 is commonly pronounce nee (like “knee”) instead of nay.
Intro:
Is this love
Is this love
Sometimes I know
Sometimes I don’t
Verse 1:
이 다음 가사 음
The next lyrics, umm
이 = this, these
다음 = next
가사 = lyrics
뭐라고 쓸까 음
What should I write? Umm.
뭐 = what
쓰다 = to write
-ㄹ까 / -을까 = used to wonder about something, sort of to oneself (쓸까)
There are so many words spinning around me, but
너무 = too, so
많다 = to be many
말 = words
나 = I, me
돌다 = to spin, to turn
-지만 = X but (돌지만)
내 마음 같은 게 하나 없어
none of them are how I feel.
내 = I, me, my
마음 = one’s heart/mind (in the metaphorical sense, not the anatomical)
같다 = to be like X (X being the preceding word)
하나 = one
없다 = to not be found, not exist
그냥 느껴져
I just feel it,
그냥 = just
느껴지다 = to be felt
해가 뜨고 나면 꼭 달이 뜨듯이
like the moon is sure to rise after the sun,
해 = the sun
뜨다 = to rise, to float
-고 나다 = after X (뜨고 나면)
-면 / -으면 = if/when X (나면)
꼭 = certainly, without fail
달 = a moon
-듯 = as if X, like X (뜨듯이)
손톱이 자라듯
like fingernails grow,
손톱 = a fingernail
자라다 = to grow
겨울이 오면 나무들이 한 올 한 올 옷을 벗듯이
like trees undress themselves bit by bit when winter comes.
겨울 = winter
오다 = to come
나무 = a tree
-들 = makes a noun plural (나무들이)
한 = one (shortened form of 하나)
올 = a strand, a “ply”
옷 = clothing
벗다 = to take off clothing
넌 나의 기억을 추억으로 바꿀 사람.
You are the person who turns my mundane memories into cherished ones,
(There are 2 words for “memory” in Korean. 기억 is general and can refer to remembering anything, from what you had for breakfast to the address you lived at growing up. 추억 is a word that is reserved for memories that involve emotion and sentiment. You would use 추억 to talk about your first kiss, or your grandmother who passed away.)
너 = you
-의 = indicates possession, like ‘s in English (나의)
기억 = a memory (see description above)
추억 = a memory (see description above)
-으로 / -로 = into X (추억으로)
바꾸다 = to change
사람 = a person
사람을 사랑으로 만들 사람
the person who turns “person” into “love”.
사랑 = love
만들다 = to make
널 알기 전
Before I knew you,
알다 = to know
-기 전 = before X (알기 전)
내 심장은 온통 직선뿐이던 거야
my heart was full of nothing but straight lines.
(The word for “person” is 사람. The word for “love” is 사랑. As you can see, only the letter in the 받침 (bottom) position is different. In this line, and the surrounding ones, RM is referring to the fact that the ㅁ in 사람 (person) is composed of straight lines, hard edges, and corners, where the ㅇ in 사랑 (love) is all rounded and smoothed out. Based on this difference in letter shape, he creates the imagery of a person having all their edges and corners smoothed and softened, turning them from a person into love.)
심장 = a heart
온통 = completely, wholly
직선 = a straight line
-뿐 = only X, just X (직선 뿐이던)
Pre-Chorus:
난 그냥 사람, 사람, 사람
I am just a person, person, person.
넌 나의 모든 모서릴 잠식
You eat away at all my edges
모든 = every
모서리 = a corner, an edge
잠식 = encroaching on, eating away at
나를 사랑, 사랑, 사랑으로 만들어 만들어
and make me, make me into love, love, love.
우린 사람, 사람, 사람
We are people, people, people
우리 = we, us, our
저 무수히 많은 직선들 속
inside those countless straight lines.
저 = that, those
무수하다 = to be countless, innumerable
-히 = makes a 하다 adjective into and adverb. IE: “innumerable” becomes “innumerably” (무수히)
속 = the inside of something
내 사랑, 사랑, 사랑
My love, love, love
그 위에 살짝 앉음 하트가 돼
If you sit on it gently, it becomes a heart.
(RM takes his letter-shape imagery one step further here. If you imagine a tiny person siting on the ㅇ that forms the 받침 of the word 사랑 (love), that person would create a little indent in the top of the ㅇ, turning it into a shape that more closely resembles a ♡.)
그 = that, those
위 = the top of something
-에 = at X, on X (위에)
살짝 = gently
앉다 = to sit
-음 = if/when X (shortened form of -으면)
되다 = to become
Chorus:
I live so I love
I live so I love
(Live & love, live & love)
(Live & love, live & love)
I live so I love
I live so I love
(Live & love, live & love)
(If it’s love, I will love you)
Verse 2:
You make I to an O
I to an O.
너 땜에 알았어
Because of you I discovered
땜에 = because of X (X being the preceding noun) (shortened form of 때문에)
왜 사람과 사랑이 비슷한 소리가 나는지
why “person” and “love” sound similar.
왜 = why
-과 / -와 = “and” when followed by an accompanying noun. Otherwise “with”. (사람과)
비슷하다 = to be similar
소리 = a sound
나다 = to occur, to come up
You make live to a love
Live to a love
너 땜에 알았어
Because of you I discovered
왜 사람이 사랑을 하며 살아가야 하는지
why a person should love while they live.
하다 = to do
-며 / -으며 = while X (하며)
살다 = to live
-아 가다 / -어가다 = to do X going forward, to go on doing X
-아야 하다 / -어야 하다 = to have to do X (살아가야 하는지)
I와 U의 거린 멀지만
The distance between I and U is long, but
거리 = distance
멀다 = to be far
F*** JKLMNOPQRST.
모든 글잘 건너 내가 네게 닿았지
I crossed all the letters and reached you.
글자 = a letter
건너다 = to cross
네 = you, your
-에게 = to X, for X (네게)
닿다 = to reach, to touch
-지 = adds a nuance of “you know”, or “don’t you agree?” (닿았지)
봐, 내와 네도 똑같은 소리가 나잖아
Look, “me” and “you” sound exactly the same.
(See language note at beginning of lesson.)
보다 = to look at, to see
-도 = X too, even X (네도)
똑같다 = to be exactly the same
-잖아 = used to tell someone something they already know (나잖아)
그렇다고 내가 넌 아니지만
That doesn’t make me you, but
그렇다 = to be like that
아니다 = to not be X (X being the preceding noun)
너의 책장의 일부가 되고파
I want to be part of the pages of your book.
책장 = pages of a book
일부 = a part, a portion of something
-고파 = to be hungry for X, to really want X (되고파)
너의 소설에 난 참견하고파
I want to step into your novel
소설 = a novel
참견하다 = to interfere in, to step into (metaphorically)
연인으로
as your lover.
(연인 means the person – not gender specific – who you are in love with and in a relationship with. Unfortunately we don’t really have a word for this in English, since the word “lover” sort of has other connotations to it. I don’t like using it as a translation for 연인, but we don’t have another option.)
연인 = a romantic partner
Pre-Chorus:
난 그냥 사람, 사람, 사람
I am just a person, person, person.
넌 나의 모든 모서릴 잠식
You eat away at all my edges
나를 사랑, 사랑, 사랑으로 만들어 만들어
and make me, make me into love, love, love.
우린 사람, 사람, 사람
We are people, people, people
저 무수히 많은 직선들 속
inside those countless straight lines.
내 사랑, 사랑, 사랑
My love, love, love
그 위에 살짝 앉음 하트가 돼
If you sit on it gently, it becomes a heart.
Chorus:
I live so I love
I live so I love
(Live & love, live & love)
(Live & love, live & love)
I live so I love
I live so I love
(Live & love, live & love)
(If it’s love, I will love you)
Bridge/Outro:
만약 내가 간다면 어떨까
What if I leave?
만약 = often used to preface a sentence that included “if”
가다 = to go
-다면 = if X (간다면)
내가 간다면 슬플까 넌
If I go, will you be sad?
슬프다 = to be sad
만약 내가 아니면 난 뭘까
If not me, what would I be?
결국 너도 날 떠날까?
In the end would you leave me too?
결국 = finally, in the end
떠나다 = to leave
스치는 바람, 바람, 바람
Wind, wind, wind blowing by.
(Double meaning: 바람 means both “wind” and “wish”)
스치다 = to brush past, blow by
바람 = wind, a wish
(만 아니길 바랄 뿐)
(I just hope that’s not all I am)
-만 = just X, only X (바람만)
-ㄹ 바라다 / -을 바라다 = to wish X would happen (아니길 바랄)
흘러갈 사람, 사람, 사람
A person, person, person passing by
흘러가다 = to pass by (흐르다 = to flow + 가다 to go)
(만 아니길 바랄 뿐)
(I just hope that’s not all I am.)
기분은 파랑, 파랑, 파랑
I’m feeling blue, blue, blue.
기분 = feelings
파랑 = blue
(머릿속은 온통 blue)
(It’s all blue inside my head)
머릿속 = the inside of one’s head (머리 = head)
널 얼마나 마나 마나
For you, how much, much, much
얼마나 = how much, how
얼마나 마나 마나
how much, much, much.
넌 나의 사람, 사람, 사람
You’re my person, person, person.
넌 나의 바람, 바람, 바람
You’re my wish, wish, wish.
넌 나의 자랑, 자랑, 자랑
You’re my pride, pride, pride.
자랑 = a boast, something one is proud of
넌 나의 사랑 (나의 사랑)
You’re my love (my love)
단 한 사랑 (단 한 사랑)
One and only love (one and only love)
단 = just
넌 나의 사람, 사람, 사람
You’re my person, person, person.
넌 나의 바람, 바람, 바람
You’re my wish, wish, wish.
넌 나의 자랑, 자랑, 자랑
You’re my pride, pride, pride.
넌 나의 사랑 (나의 사랑)
You’re my love. (my love)
단 한 사랑 (단 한 사랑)
One and only love. (one and only love)
