A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children. <Eeny, meeny, miny, moe>, for example, is a nursery rhyme in the United States and England. Nursery rhymes often have simple lyrics and melodies, so singing them can be a fun way to practice Korean. Here are five examples. The romanization follows Revised Romanization; it is a reading aid, not English phonetic spelling.
곰 세 마리 / Three Bears [gom se mari]
| Korean | Revised Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 곰 세 마리가 한 집에 있어 | gom se mariga han jibe isseo | Three bears live in one house. |
| 아빠 곰, 엄마 곰, 아기 곰 | appa gom, eomma gom, agi gom | Daddy Bear, Mommy Bear, Baby Bear. |
| 아빠 곰은 뚱뚱해 | appa gomeun ttungttunghae | Daddy Bear is fat. |
| 엄마 곰은 날씬해 | eomma gomeun nalssinhae | Mommy Bear is slim. |
| 아기 곰은 너무 귀여워 | agi gomeun neomu gwiyeowo | Baby Bear is so cute. |
| 으쓱, 으쓱, 잘한다! | eusseuk, eusseuk, jalhanda! | Shoulders up, shoulders up—well done! |
곰 세 마리 is one of the most famous Korean nursery rhymes. Children often sing it with actions. The lines use descriptive predicates such as 뚱뚱해 (is fat), 날씬해 (is slim), and 귀여워 (is cute), showing how Korean describes people. 으쓱 imitates raising or shrugging the shoulders. These are casual speech forms.
눈 / Snow [nun]
| Korean | Revised Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 펄, 펄, 눈이 옵니다 | peol, peol, nuni omnida | The snow falls in big flakes. |
| 하늘에서 눈이 옵니다 | haneureseo nuni omnida | Snow falls from the sky. |
| 하늘나라 선녀님들이 | haneullara seonnyeonimdeuri | The heavenly fairies |
| 송이송이 하얀 솜을 | song-isong-i hayan someul | tufts of white cotton |
| 자꾸자꾸 뿌려 줍니다 | jakkujakku ppuryeo jumnida | keep scattering. |
눈 is a Korean nursery rhyme that elementary school students sing in winter. The lyrics imagine snow as white cotton scattered by heavenly fairies. 선녀 refers to a female celestial being in East Asian folklore. The final three rows form one sentence: “The heavenly fairies keep scattering tufts of white cotton.”
솜사탕 / Cotton Candy [somsatang]
| Korean | Revised Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 나뭇가지에 실처럼 날아든 솜사탕 | namutgajie silcheoreom naradeun somsatang | Cotton candy that drifted onto a branch like thread. |
| 하얀 눈처럼 희고도 깨끗한 솜사탕 | hayan nuncheoreom huigodo kkaekkeutan somsatang | Cotton candy, white and clean like white snow. |
| 엄마 손 잡고 나들이 갈 때 먹어 본 솜사탕 | eomma son japgo nadeuri gal ttae meogeo bon somsatang | Cotton candy I tasted on an outing, holding Mom’s hand. |
| 훅 훅 불면은 구멍이 뚫리는 커다란 솜사탕 | huk huk bulmyeoneun gumeong-i ttullineun keodaran somsatang | Big cotton candy that gets holes in it when I blow, puff, puff. |
솜사탕 is a song that children sing when they are on picnics or in amusement parks. This song describes cotton candy and the memories associated with it. I feel quite nostalgic when I think of cotton candy. Maybe it is because of this song!
텔레비전 / Television [tellebijeon]
| Korean | Revised Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 텔레비전에 내가 나왔으면 | tellebijeone naega nawasseumyeon | If only I could appear on television, |
| 정말 좋겠네, 정말 좋겠네 | jeongmal jokenne, jeongmal jokenne | that would be wonderful, really wonderful. |
| 춤추고, 노래하는, 예쁜 내 얼굴 | chumchugo, noraehaneun, yeppeun nae eolgul | My pretty face, as I dance and sing. |
| 텔레비전에 내가 나왔으면 | tellebijeone naega nawasseumyeon | If only I could appear on television, |
| 정말 좋겠네, 정말 좋겠네 | jeongmal jokenne, jeongmal jokenne | that would be wonderful, really wonderful. |
텔레비전 is a children’s song about wishing to appear on television. The pattern -았/었으면 좋겠다 expresses a wish or hope: “It would be nice if…”
원숭이 엉덩이는 빨개 / A Monkey’s Bottom Is Red
| Korean | Revised Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 원숭이 엉덩이는 빨개 | wonsung-i eongdeong-ineun ppalgae | A monkey’s bottom is red. |
| 빨가면 사과, 사과는 맛있어 | ppalgamyeon sagwa, sagwaneun masisseo | If it’s red, think of an apple; apples are delicious. |
| 맛있으면 바나나, 바나나는 길어 | masisseumyeon banana, banananeun gireo | If it’s delicious, think of a banana; bananas are long. |
| 길면 기차, 기차는 빨라 | gilmyeon gicha, gichaneun ppalla | If it’s long, think of a train; trains are fast. |
| 빠르면 비행기, 비행기는 높아 | ppareumyeon bihaenggi, bihaenggineun nopa | If it’s fast, think of an airplane; airplanes fly high. |
| 높으면 백두산 | nopeumyeon baekdusan | If it’s high, think of Mount Baekdu. |
원숭이 엉덩이는 빨개 is a song that children sing when playing. This song starts with a word and moves to another word that has similar attributes. Children would modify or lengthen the lyrics for fun.
Conclusion
Today we learned 5 Korean nursery rhymes. Which one was the most interesting? Knowing and singing Korean nursery rhymes will give you an understanding of both Korean grammar and culture. Why not try singing a Korean nursery rhyme today?