어떡해 (eotteokae) in Korean — what it means and how idols actually say it
· 1 min read
어떡해 (eotteokae) means what do I do / oh no. It is panic and sympathy — "what now?", "oh no!". In the 102 idol clips we have scripted, it appears 39 times — here is how it sounds in real speech, not a textbook.
What eotteokae means
어떡해 = what do I do / oh no. The forms you will hear most: 어떡해!, 이거 어떡해, 어떡하지.
어떡해 in real lines
아니 박수가 너무 습관이야 어떡해 ani baksuga neomu seupgwaniya eotteokae I keep clapping out of habit, oh no — SEVENTEEN, GOING SEVENTEEN — retro variety cuts (EP.14) · hear this line
어떡해 - 나 너무 시민인데... eotteokae - na neomu simininde... Oh no... - I am so innocent... — SHINee, 살롱드립2 EP.29 — 샤이니 키 · hear this line
팀장님이 또 오신다고요? - 어떡해 timjangnimi tto osindagoyo? - eotteokae The team leader is coming here again? -What do we do? — ILLIT, SUPER ILLIT EP.4 — the perfect escape · hear this line
어떡해, 안 될 것 같아요 저... eotteokae, an doel geot gatayo jeo... Oh no, I don’t think I can do it... — NewJeans, Jeans' ZINE — autumn camp EP.1 · hear this line
How to say it
The ㄱ and ㅎ merge into a hard k: 어떠케, eo-tteo-ke. ㄸ is tense. Check any line with the pronunciation tool.
Casual or polite?
Casual and emotional. 어떡해요 is polite. Not the same as 어떻게 (how), which is spelled differently but sounds almost the same.
What it pairs with in our clips
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