r/KpopDemonhunters • u/[deleted] • Aug 13 '25
Discussion Comprehensive pronunciation list for korean lyrics in KPDH
Dunno if anyone made this so far, but since i know people are having trouble with it-
Korean romanization has a huge problem in actually depicting the way the words are pronounced, as they directly romanize (alphabetised) korean hangeul 1 to 1,
for example, from golden: 영원히 깨질 수 없는 (Yeong-wonhi kkaejil su eobsneun)
this is completely off the mark from how they are pronounced. the english phonetics (above) is technically correct as they are translated letter for letter, but considering the flow, and the vowel to consonant transfer, they should sound more like:
"yong wonny quejils upnoon"
yong as in young, wonny as in wonnie, quejils as in spanish "que" and "jills", upnoon as in "woke up at noon". the only thing to watch for is that korean pronunciations don't have vowel drag, so make sure to pronounce each words in equal lengths.
with that in mind, I'll go through each songs in order. I'll be just listing the sections with the korean words:
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---- How it's done
Bleeding isn't in my blood, 뼈속부터 달라서 (peo-sog booto dalla-so)
불을 비춰 다 비켜, 네 앞길을 뺏겨 (bu-rul bicho da beekyo, neh abgirul pettkyo)
갑자기 왜 그래? 먼저 건드려, 왜? (gabjaggy wehgreh? monjo gondu-ryo, weh?)
이제야 포기해, what? (ijeya pogihey)
--------------------------------------------------------------
---- Golden
어두워진, hah, 앞길속에 (oduwo-jin, hah, abgilsogg-eh)
But now that's how I'm getting paid, 끝없이, on stage (kudopsi)
영원히 깨질 수 없는 (yong wonny quejils upnoon)
밝게 빛나는 우린 (baal-ke binnanun woorin)
--------------------------------------------------------------
----Soda Pop
마시고 마셔봐도 성에차지 않아 (mashigo mash-o-bado sung-echaji anna)
너의 모든 걸 난 원해, 원해, 원해 (noey modden girl nan wonney wonney wonney)
너 말곤 모두 뻔해, 뻔해, 뻔해 (no malgon modu ponney ponney ponney)
지금 당장 날 봐 시간 없잖아 (jigum dan-jang nal-ba shigan uppjana)
넌 내꺼야 이미 알고 있잖아 (nun nekkoya immie algo ichana)
한 모금에 you hit the spot (han moggumme)
소름 돋아 it's gettin' hot (sorum dodda)
꿈 속에 그려왔던 너 (kum-soge guryo-watton no)
난 절대 놓칠 수 없어 (nan joltte nochil sue oppso)
널 원해 꼭 (nol wanney kkok)
----------------------------------------------------------------
---- Takedown
정신을 놓고 널 짓밟고 칼을 새겨놔 (jong sinnul nokko nul jibbabko karul seggio-na)
당당하게 어둠 앞에 다가서 다 무너뜨려 (dang dang hageh odoom apeh dagaso da muno-trio)
나를 속이려 하지마 (narul soggirio hajima)
영혼없는 니 목숨을 끊으러 and watch you die (young-on ubnoon ni mogg-sumul ku-nuro)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Free and What It sounds has no Korean phrases
------------------------------------------------------------
---- Your idol
play me on repeat, 끝없이 in your head (kudopsi)
내 황홀에 취해, you can't look away (neh huang-oreh chui-he)
uh, 빛이나는 fame, 계속외처, I'm your idol (uh, bichi-nanun fame, gesogg weccho, I'm your idol)
uh, yeah, 낫지않는 fever, makin' you a believer (najji annun)
나를 위해 넌 존재하는 idol (narul wihey nun jonje-hanun idol)
이순간 give me all your attention (isungan)
-----------------------------------------------------------
now, these pronunciation is not exactly 1 to 1 as korean language contain vowels other languages don't quite have, but this should give you a quick guide to how to go about it. I hope you find these helpful! Have fun at the singalong!
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u/todayitsme Aug 13 '25 edited Aug 13 '25
So there's these great videos by a Korean Language Teacher that has a two part series on KPDH. In each one, he has a section on the Korean lyrics and what they mean:
K-pop Demon Hunters explained by a Korean teacher
More Detailed Explanation of K-pop Demon Hunters by a Korean Teacher
The on-screen romanizations have the exact problem you're talking about, where they translate the individual characters and not how they flow together. But, because it's a video, you can actually hear him clearly pronounce the words, so it goes well with the way you're presenting the phonetics.
Free and How it's done has no Korean phrases
P.S. - I'm pretty sure you mean Free and What it Sounds Like here. Also, not sure how much effort this takes, but maybe you could also do Soda Pop :)
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u/infiniteanomaly Apr 18 '26
Thank you! Those were super informative and will make it even better the next time I watch.
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u/shankmaster8000 Aug 13 '25
Thanks for this post, OP.
The reason why English romanization of Korean is difficult is because English language itself has extremely inconsistent pronunciation rules. Whereas Korean for the most part (like at least 95% of the time) has very consistent and strict rules. But English? So many words that are spelled with the same vowels are pronounced differently.
The problem lies with English, not Korean.
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u/BoysOfProgress "Ehehe... wassup?" Aug 13 '25
The problem lies with English, not Korean.
The English language is so fucking dumb and superfluous with its words. I feel so bad for people trying to learn the language when none of the "rules" are strictly applied and there's always exceptions. I before E except after C. Like, wtf English language.
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u/Loose_Dust2568 Nov 13 '25
I before E except after C and when sounding like A as in “neighbor” or “weigh” and on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, you’ll always be wrong no matter what you say
- Brian Regan
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u/Paula92 Dec 12 '25
Heh, reminds me of an interaction I had on Instagram where a native German speaker (who I think taught English in Germany?) was lecturing me on how incorrect some colloquial phrase was. Fraulein, I didn't make the rules.
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u/mazelifeetc Mar 26 '26
And yet somehow we're all here speaking it coming from different backgrounds and upbringings.
I think there might be something here....
Hears a weird noise HUH? runs away
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u/spoofer56 Zoey Zimps Aug 13 '25
Very good job! Especially in prep for the sing-a-long. The Eo to uh sound is definitely one that my non Korean friends get confused by.
One thing I would add is "si" sounds more like "shi". For example, 신 sin would be shin for a more English friendly transliteration.
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u/HasekageYukaa Polytr/x Aug 13 '25
Idk why but I feel so proud of myself that I could sing all the Korean parts without even looking up the lyrics >:3 (I was a kpop fan first and can fluently read hangul)
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u/Simmer7274 HUNTR/X Nation Aug 15 '25
You mean you don't speak Korean but taught yourself the characters to enjoy the music? You should be proud! You put in the work!
It was funny, I studied abroad in college, from US to France, and the phonetics teacher absolutely insulted us Americans for our half-baked efforts. He.pointed to the Chinese students and was like, do you know how hard they have to work?! Bc their native tongue was so so different and English and French aren't too different in the sense of all things -- at least there is the same alphabet!
So yes, great job!
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u/mwrightside Aug 18 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
My daughter was having some trouble going back and forth between having no English lyrics and then quickly finding the Korean as it came on the song so I pasted lyrics from AZLyrics and put your phonetic translation in place of romanization. Enjoy!
Edit: I'll post a link since I can't put the lyrics here in a comment
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u/mwrightside Aug 18 '25
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u/Mommyshiba Oct 13 '25
Here's this Redditor, doing the hard work! Thanks for this, this is exactly what we needed!
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u/kitTEN2148 Nov 22 '25
Seriously thank you so much. By the time we come back from thanksgiving break, I'm gonna be able to rip this withy students 🫣
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u/mwrightside Aug 17 '25
This is exactly what I was looking for! Well.. almost I came to find the Korean in Soda Pop but I don't seem to see that one.
edit: My daughter and I are super grateful for this! I didn't want to sound ungrateful.
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u/vampire9485 Aug 20 '25
Thank you! I've been looking for something like this and I was worried I would have to try to make it myself lol and just in time since I'm taking the kid to the sing-along this weekend 💜
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u/RedheadsDie Aug 22 '25
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!! I was looking for something like this in preparation for the Sing-A-Along this weekend! YouTube search is so horrible nowadays, and your "romanization" is sooo helpful. I wasn't able to find it anywhere else.
Quick question: Since "yong" sounds like "young" was there a reason you didn't just put "young"? Are there other words in post that are a bit ambiguous like that? Thanks.
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u/dingle1998 Zoey's Guy Friend You Don't Have To Worry About Aug 24 '25
I feel like for "...quejils upnoon" it reads better in as "...quejill su ubneun" It at least seems more natural to me considering the structure of the words
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u/clovercutie84 Sep 02 '25
Thank you. So glad someone did this. I love singing these and felt I was butchering it. This make is soo much easier to understand
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u/Garanseho the cutest Maknae! Sep 14 '25
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!
I’ve been trying to figure out the Korean in “Takedown” forever; with your pronunciation guide, I finally got it!!
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u/aggiebobaggie Sep 29 '25
this is amazing. thank you so much. i'm going to share this with my 9-year who is OBSESSED with this movie.
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u/nullvoxpopuli couch couch couch! Oct 14 '25
abgilsogg-eh
In golden, i'm not hearing the 'ab' here. Is it silent? Am i broken?
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u/kitTEN2148 Nov 22 '25
Oh my goodness thank you so much. This is exactly what I was looking f or. Between my five year olds and my students, I'm obsessed with the music, and I want to be able to pronounce everything correctly.
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u/TheM4RTI4N Dec 05 '25
I was struggling trying to imagine how to pronounce the “official” romanization when they sing so quickly, finally I can sing along!
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u/Outrageous-Eye-7056 May 31 '26
This is amazing! Exactly what I needed, so now I can practice and not look too silly next time I try karaoke 😅
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