After Rain, the Ground Hardens

Hi! Today we’re diving into Stray Kids’ “Secret Secret (말할 수 없는 비밀).”

First we’ll learn some vocabulary and expressions from the song, including the proverb “After rain, the ground hardens (비 온 뒤에 땅이 굳는다),” and then translate the song line by line.

아무 말도 못 해 난
I can’t say anything.
→ Normally you would say 난 아무 말도 못 해, but here 난 is shifted to the end for rhyme.

그저 내 입가에 맴돌아
The words just linger at my lips.
→ 그저: just/merely, 맴돌아: to linger around

가끔씩 난 두려워져
Sometimes I become afraid.

누군가 알아챌까
What if someone notices?
→ This line is connected to the previous one. Normally it would’ve been said: 누군가 알아챌까 봐 난 가끔씩 두려워져 (Sometimes I’m afraid that someone might notice).

빗소리에 더 크게 외쳐 본다
I try shouting louder into the sound of rain.

내 말들이 모두 묻혀질까 봐
Afraid that all my words will be buried.
→ -ㄹ까 봐: worried that ~ might happen

하늘이 점점 흐려져 간다
The sky is getting cloudy.
→ 점점: gradually

축 처진 어깨, 젖어버린 옷
Drooping shoulders, clothes soaked

시끄럽던 음악 소리마저 작게만 들려
Even the loud music sounds muted
→ -마저: even

답답했던 내 목소리를 다, 이 비에 흘려보내고 싶어 꺼내 본다
I take out all my stifled voices, wanting to let them flow away in the rain.

내려오는 빗물에 모든 걱정들을 담아 떨쳐내
I put all my worries into the falling rain and shake them off.
→ 떨쳐내다: to shake off, to cast away

이런 내 모습 속으로 더 깊이 젖어들지 않게
So that I don’t sink deeper into this version of myself.
→ 젖어들다: literally “to get soaked into,” here meaning “to sink/fall deeper.”

Baby, it’s fallin’

끝의 한 방울까지
To the last drop

웃는 얼굴로 떠나보내
Send them off with a smiling face.

손끝에 맺힌 마지막까지 모두 다
Everything, event the last drop clinging to my fingertips.
→ 맺히다: “to form/gather up,” often used for drops of water or tears.

괜찮은 척하는 게 더 외로워
Pretending to be okay makes me lonelier.
→ -척하다: pretend to

홀로 다른 곳을 바라보며
Gazing elsewhere by myself

나의 고민을 수없이 지웠다 그리는 걸 반복해 봤자 달라지는 건 없어
Even though I endlessly erase and redraw my worries, repeating it changes nothing.

뭐, 언젠간 익숙해지겠지
Well, maybe one day I’ll get used to it.
→ -겠지: I guess/suppose

이런 느낌조차 잊은 채로 살아가겠지
I’ll live on, forgetting even these feelings.
→ -채로: while (in a state)

바쁘게 걸어가다 보면 괜찮아지겠지
If I walk on busily, I’ll get okay.

비 온 뒤에 땅이 굳고, 다시금 꽃이 피듯이
Like the ground hardens and flowers bloom after rain.
→ 비 온 뒤에 땅이 굳는다: (proverb) hardships make you stronger.

축 처진 어깨, 젖어버린 옷
Drooping shoulders, clothes soaked

시끄럽던 음악 소리마저 작게만 들려
Even the loud music sounds muted

답답했던 내 목소리를 다, 이 비에 흘려보내고 싶어 꺼내 본다
I take out all my stifled voices, wanting to let them flow away in the rain.

내려오는 빗물에 모든 걱정들을 담아 떨쳐내
I put all my worries into the falling rain and shake them off.

이런 내 모습 속으로 더 깊이 젖어들지 않게
So that I don’t sink deeper into this version of myself.

Baby, it’s fallin’

끝의 한 방울까지
To the last drop

웃는 얼굴로 떠나보내
Send them off with a smiling face.

손끝에 맺힌 마지막까지 모두 다
Everything, event the last drop clinging to my fingertips.

애써 더 웃어본다
I force myself to smile more
→ 애쓰다: “to struggle/make effort.” Implies the smile is not natural.

하루가 길어진다
The days grow longer

점점 더 지쳐간다
I get more exhausted

세상에 혼자 남겨진 기분이야
It feels like I’m left alone in this world

난 이 맘조차 속이며 잘 지낼까
Will I be able to get better by even fooling my own heart?

내려오는 빗물에 모든 걱정들을 담아 떨쳐내
I put all my worries into the falling rain and shake them off.

이런 내 모습 속으로 더 깊이 젖어들지 않게
So that I don’t sink deeper into this version of myself.

Baby, it’s fallin’

끝의 한 방울까지
To the last drop

웃는 얼굴로 떠나보내
Send them off with a smiling face.

손끝에 맺힌 마지막까지 모두 다
Everything, event the last drop clinging to my fingertips.

It was my first time listening to this song. The lyrics quite resonated with me and even game me comfort.

I think learning Korean like this is a great method. I’ll do it from time to time.

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See you next time! 👋