This week we’re looking at the heart-breaking lyrics from GEEKS’ version of ‘Officially Missing You’.
Our first phrase is actually common in English lyrics, too.
이젠 너와 내가 친구
(i-jen neo-wa nae-ga chingu)
이젠 – This is a contraction of 이제는, consisting of 이제/now, and 는/a topic marking particle. Altogether it has the meaning of ‘from now on/as of now’.
너 – This is the informal word for ‘you’.
와 – This particle is one way to say ‘and’. Because 너 ends in a vowel, 와 is used after it. For nouns ending in a consonant, use 과 (gwa). You can use 와/과 between nouns to say NOUN + NOUN. You can add as many nouns as you like, as long as you keep using the particles after each noun!
내가 – Without getting to grammar-heavy here, this word has the meaning of ‘I’ in this phrase.
친구 – This is the noun meaning ‘friend’.
Altogether this phrase means, “You and I are just friends, now.”
널 잊으려고
(neol i-jeu-ryeo-go)
This phrase is part of a longer sentence meaning, “I try to forget about you but it’s no use.”
널 – This is a contraction of 너 (you remember this word now, right?) and 를, which is an object marking particle.
잊으려고 – This is part of a tricker grammar construction. The construction is -(으)려고 하다 (eu-ryeo-go ha-da). It can have the meaning of intending to do something or that something is about to do something. For example, here the verb 잊다, to forget, is used with the construction to mean literally, “I’m intending to forget,” but in English this is better translated as, “I want to forget/I’m trying to forget.”
Because this could be a tricky grammar point, let’s look at more examples.
사려고 했는데 // I was gonna buy it but… (suggests more context)
자려고 하지만 아직도 피곤하지 않아요 // I’m gonna sleep but I’m not tired yet.
야채를 먹으려고 하는데 치킨 더 맛있어요 // I plan to eat some vegetables but fried chicken tastes better.
Practise making your own sentences with this construction in the comment section!
