Hoseok is Babie

I get it. Sometimes when you’re writing a Kpop fanfic, you want to make the experience as authentic for the reader as possible. And what better way to do that than to throw the occasional Korean in here and there?

Romanized Korean is great; there are certain colloquial things in Korean that you just can’t translate into English. So yes, all the power to you writers out there using romanized Korean - kudos to you for trying to incorporate another language into your writing in a way that makes your story flow more naturally in a certain cultural setting. But are you doing it correctly?

I can’t tell you how much I cringe when I find a well-written fic and am enjoying it… when the author drops some misused romanized Korean smack in the middle. For those of you scrunching their noses at this post and thinking, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a fic. Just ignore it.” I’d like to point out that yes it is slightly insulting when someone misuses your language, acts like it’s not a big deal, and continues to misuse your language even if they may or may not know that they are misusing it.

So to spread awareness on using proper romanized Korean, I am uploading this post to share several common mistakes that fanfic writers tend to make.

Hope you find this helpful!

[-AH/-YAH]

- “Jongin-yah”x “Hwasa-ah”× - Can you tell me why these are wrong? - If these sound right to you, you are probably not using these suffixes correctly. - RULE: -ah is used with names that end in a consonant sound while -yah is used with names that end in a vowel sound. - RULE: you should only use -ah/-yah when directly addressing someone. - “Jungkook-ah, we really need to hang out sometime!“ - “Hani-yah, let’s go study at the library later today.”  - NEVER use these suffixes in the object form/to refer to someone. - “Did our Sungmin-ah sleep well last night?”x  - "I was with Sunny-yah at the club yesterday.“x

[JAGI]

- Personally, I dislike seeing ‘jagi’ in fanfics because it does translate into ‘Honey’ or ‘Sweetheart’ and other similar terms of endearment. But if you must use it for whatever reason, make sure you’re using it correctly! - “Our jagi-yah looks so cute today!”x - “Is our jagi-yah sick?”x - This is such a common mistake. - As in the previous lesson, ‘jagi’ ends with a vowel sound, therefore the appropriate ending is? Yup. -Yah. - So why is the above example wrong? - As in the previous lesson, you should ONLY use -yah after ‘jagi’ when you are directly addressing someone and not commenting on their appearance/condition/etc. - “Jagi-yah, let’s go eat something yummy today~” - “I bought a pretty necklace for our jagi.”

[-IE]

- “I went on a date with Suhoie-ah yesterday.”x - That actually killed me to type. - RULE: Unlike -ah/-yah, you can use -ie in the object form/to refer to someone and to comment on someone’s appearance/condition/etc. - RULE: Only use -ie if the name ends with a consonant sound. - “Have I ever introduced you to Sebomie?” - “Jiminie performed so well on stage today.” - “Did you get Youngjaeie’s number?”x - NEVER use -ie and -ah/-yah together - “Kim Soohyunie-yah is my kdrama crush!”x - Just. No. - NEVER use the suffixes -ah/-yah outside of Kpop fanfics.  -ie is okay. - For example, when commenting on a music video: - “Sehunie is so good looking” is perfectly fine. - “Kihyun-ah sings so well!” is not since you’re commenting on a quality of his and not directly addressing him.

[ANNYEONG/UMMA/ETC.]

- “Annyeong! Jeoneun Irene ibnida!”x - Lit. Translated: “Hello! I am Irene!” - Bottom line is, if you can translate directly into English, I implore you to stay away from romanized Korean. - You might as well just type your whole story in Korean if you’re going to use romanized Korean so heavily. - “Umma, how have you been?“x - Lit. Translated: “Mom, how have you been?” - PLEASE DON’T USE SARANGHAEYO IN YOUR FIC OR I WILL FIND YOU AND- - ahem - Sorry.  It needed to be said. - Honestly speaking, using romanized Korean in your fics isn’t completely necessary.  If your story setting is in Korea and the majority of your characters are Korean, then it’s assumed that they are speaking Korean even though you’re writing in English.  You don’t see professional Dramafever subtitles using -ah/-yah or oppa in their subs do you?

Anywaaaaaays happy fanfic writing and I hope this wasn’t too confusing :)

Yoongi: I don’t have a son?

Kidnapper: Then why are you labelled as Daddy in his contact list?

the reason why yoongi told us to stop and leaving with hobi? 😂

Art is not mine

happy birthday to the nation’s baby boy ♥

bonus:

All My Asks I Answered On My Blog Deleted, So I Decided To Make An Ask Meme Thingyy.

(1) Do You Sleep With Your Closet Doors Open Or Closed?

(2) Do You Have Freckles?

(3) Can You Whistle?

(4) Last Song You Listened To.

(5) What Is Your Favourite Colour?

(6) Relationship Status.

(7) What Is The Temperature Right Now?

(8) Did You Wake Up Cranky?

(9) How Many Followers?

(10) Zodiac Sign.

(11) What Is Your Eye Colour?

(12) Take A Vitamin Daily?

(13) Do You Sing In The Shower?

(14) What Books Are You Reading?

(15) Grab The Book Nearest To You, Turn To Page 64, Give Me Line 14.

(16) Favourite Anime?

(17) Last Person You Cried In Front Of?

(18) Do You Collect Anything?

(19) What Did You Have For Lunch?

(20) Do You Dance In The Car?

(21) Favourite Animal?

(22) Do You Watch The Olympics?

(23) What Time Do You Usually Go To Bed?

(24) Are You Wearing Makeup Right Now?

(25) Do You Prefer To Swim In A Pool Or The Ocean?

(26) Favourite Tumblr Blog?

(27) Bottled Water Or Tap Water?

(28) What Makes You Happy?

(29) Post A Gif Of What You’re Currently Feeling Right Now.

(30) Do You Study Better With Or Without Music?

(31) Dogs Or Cats?

(32) If You Were A Crayon What Colour Would You Be?

(33) PlayStation Or Xbox.

(34) Would You Swim In The Lake Or Ocean?

(35) Do You Believe In Magic?

(36) What Colour Shirt Are You Wearing?

(37) Can You Curl Your Tongue?

(38) Do You Save Money Or Spend It?

(39) Is There Anything Pink Within 10 Feet Of You?

(40) Do You Have Any Obsessions Right Now?

(41) Have You Ever Caught A Butterfly?

(42) Are You Easily Influenced By Other People?

(43) Do You Have Strange Dreams?

(44) Do You Like Going On Airplanes?

(45) Name One Movie That Made You Cry.

(46) Peanuts Or Sunflower Seeds?

(47) If I Handed You A Concert Ticket Right Now, Who Would You Want The Performer To Be?

(48) Are You A Picky Eater?

(49) Are You A Heavy Sleeper?

(50) Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning?

(51) Do You Like To Read / Write?

(52) Do You Like Your Music Loud?

(53) Would You Rather Carve Pumpkins Or Wrap Presents?

(54) Put Your Music On Shuffle, What Is The First Song That Came Up?

(55) What Season Are You In Right Now? (Weather)

(56) What Are You Craving Right Now?

(57) Post A Screenshot Of Your Tumblr Feed.

(58) What Is Your Gender?

(59) Coffee Or Tea?

(60) Do You Have Any Homework Right Now? If So, What Is It About?

(61) What Is Your Sexuality?

(62) Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning?

(63) Favourite Pokemon?

(64) Favourite Social Media?

(65) What’s Your Opinion On Instagram Stories?

(66) Do You Get Homesick?

(67) Are You A Virgin?

(68) What Shampoo And Conditioner Are You Using Right Now?

(69) If You Were Far From Home And Needed To Sleep For The Night, Would You Choose To Rent A Crappy Motel Room For $60 Or Sleep In Your Car For Free?

(70) Are Both Of Your Blood Parents Still In Your Life?

(71)  Whats The Next Movie You Want To See In Theaters?

(72) Do You Miss Your Ex?

(73) What Is Your Favourite Quote Right Now?

(74)  What Eye Colour Do You Find Sexiest?

(75) Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set?

(76) What Was The Last Thing You Ate?

(77) What Games Do You Have On Your Phone?

(78) Would You Give A Homeless Person CPR If They Were Dying? Why Or Why Not?

(79) Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight?

(80) Stalked Someone On A Social Network?

(81) Do You Like Meeting New People?

(82) Do You Wear Rings? If You Do, Take A Picture Of Them.

(83) Do You Sleep With Your Bedroom Door Open Or Closed?

(84) What Are Three Things You Did Today?

(85) What Do You Wear To Bed?

(86) List All Of Your Different Beauty Products You Have Right Now.

(87) Are You A Day Or Night Person?

(88) List All Of Your Video Games On Your Phone, Console Etc.

(89) Tell Me About A Dream That You Had And When It Happened.

(90) Favourite Soda Drink?

(91) What Sounds Are Your Favourite?

(92) Do You Wear Jeans Or Sweats More?

(93) How Do You Look Right Now?

(94) Name Something That Relaxes You.

(95) What Tattoo Do You Want?