STAY — BLACKPINK: meaning, key lines and pronunciation
What does “STAY” by BLACKPINK mean?
In “STAY,” BLACKPINK plead with someone who keeps hurting them, caught between anger and a love they cannot drop. They feel numb and anxious, comfort themselves alone, and whisper to a mirror about letting go, yet a sad melody and a tempting scent keep pulling them back.
What the song is about
In the end they ask for very little, just someone beside them, and even offer to be a fire against the dark.
Key lines
4 lines from the song in Korean, with how they sound and what they mean. The full line-by-line breakdown lives in the app.
미안하단 말 한마디 없이 또 나 혼자 위로하고Listen from this lineRomanization (as sung): mi·an·ha·dan mal han·ma·di eop·ssi tto na hon·ja wi·ro·ha·go
Meaning: Without a word of apology, I end up comforting myself alone again
Words in this line- 미안하단mi·an·ha·danapologetic
- 말malword
- 한마디han·ma·dia single word
- 없이eop·ssiwithout
- 또ttoagain
- 나naI
- 혼자hon·jaalone
- 위로하고wi·ro·ha·gocomfort, and
Word for word: Sorry-saying word one-word without, again I alone comfort and
Why it doesn't translate word for word: 한마디 is 'one word', but with 없이 ('without') it means 'not even a word'. 또 ('again') shows this keeps happening. 혼자 ('alone') plus 위로하고 ('comforting, and') paints a bitter picture: the hurt person soothes themself.
오늘 하루도 혹시 날 떠날까 늘 불안해 해Listen from this lineRomanization (as sung): o·neul ha·ru·do hok·ssi nal tteo·nal·kka neul bu·ran·hae hae
Meaning: Every day I'm anxious that you might leave me
Words in this line- 오늘o·neultoday
- 하루도ha·ru·doday too
- 혹시hok·ssiwhat if
- 날nalme
- 떠날까tteo·nal·kkawill you leave
- 늘neulalways
- 불안해bu·ran·haeuneasy
- 해haeI do
Word for word: Today's day too by chance me will-you-leave, always uneasy I-do
Why it doesn't translate word for word: 오늘 하루도 literally 'today's day too', meaning 'day after day'. 혹시 ('by chance') and -ㄹ까 ('might...?') together express the fear of 'what if you leave'. 불안해 해 turns the state 'uneasy' into the action 'I keep worrying'.
그저 내 곁에 stay with meListen from this lineRomanization (as sung): geu·jeo nae gyeo·te stay with me
Meaning: Just stay by my side, stay with me
Words in this line- 그저geu·jeojust
- 내naemy
- 곁에gyeo·tebeside
Word for word: Just my side-at stay with me.
Why it doesn't translate word for word: 그저 means 'merely', and 곁에 means 'at the side', i.e. 'nearby'. The English 'stay with me' is inserted as a hook and repeats the plea. Together it is a quiet, almost childlike request: nothing more, just be here.
지금 당장 많은 걸 바라는 게 아냐Listen from this lineRomanization (as sung): ji·geum dang·jang ma·neun geol ba·ra·neun ge a·nya
Meaning: I'm not asking for much right now
Words in this line- 지금ji·geumnow
- 당장dang·jangright away
- 많은ma·neunmuch
- 걸geolthing (object)
- 바라는ba·ra·neunwishing
- 게gethe fact that
- 아냐a·nyais not
Word for word: Now right-away much-thing wishing-thing is-not.
Why it doesn't translate word for word: 바라다 means 'to wish, expect', 게 means 'the thing that', and 아냐 means 'is not'. Together -는 게 아냐 means 'it's not that I...', a soft justification. The line comes across as 'I'm really not asking for much'.
Lyrics © their rights holders. “STAY” — BLACKPINK. Quoted for commentary and learning.
Song facts
- Lines
- 47
- Key lines explained
- 4
- Words explained
- 18
- Length
- 4:01
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Ask MinaSong vocabulary
Words from the song in Korean alphabetical order, with pronunciation and meaning.
| Word | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 가두기 | ga·du·gi | locking up |
| 같다면 | gat·tta·myeon | if it's the same |
| 곁을 | gyeo·teul | side |
| 굳이 | gu·ji | of all things |
| 너여야만 | neo·yeo·ya·man | only if it's you |
| 달콤한 | dal·kom·han | sweet |
| 닮은 | dal·meun | resembling |
| 듯한 | deu·tan | seeming |
| 떠나지 | tteo·na·ji | leave |
| 맘과 | mam·gwa | heart, with |
| 멜로디 | mel·lo·di | melody |
| 묻지 | mut·jji | ask |
| 밉지만 | mip·jji·man | hateful, but |
| 밤이 | ba·mi | night |
| 사랑하니 | sa·rang·ha·ni | do you love? |
| 사랑해 | sa·rang·hae | I love |
| 슬픈 | seul·peun | sad |
| 아직 | a·jik | still |
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Questions about “STAY”
What is “STAY” by BLACKPINK about?
In “STAY,” BLACKPINK plead with someone who keeps hurting them, caught between anger and a love they cannot drop. They feel numb and anxious, comfort themselves alone, and whisper to a mirror about letting go, yet a sad melody and a tempting scent keep pulling them back. In the end they ask for very little, just someone beside them, and even offer to be a fire against the dark.
What does “미안하단 말 한마디 없이 또 나 혼자 위로하고” mean in “STAY”?
In “STAY” by BLACKPINK, “미안하단 말 한마디 없이 또 나 혼자 위로하고” means: Without a word of apology, I end up comforting myself alone again. 한마디 is 'one word', but with 없이 ('without') it means 'not even a word'. 또 ('again') shows this keeps happening. 혼자 ('alone') plus 위로하고 ('comforting, and') paints a bitter picture: the hurt person soothes themself.
What does “오늘 하루도 혹시 날 떠날까 늘 불안해 해” mean in “STAY”?
In “STAY” by BLACKPINK, “오늘 하루도 혹시 날 떠날까 늘 불안해 해” means: Every day I'm anxious that you might leave me. 오늘 하루도 literally 'today's day too', meaning 'day after day'. 혹시 ('by chance') and -ㄹ까 ('might...?') together express the fear of 'what if you leave'. 불안해 해 turns the state 'uneasy' into the action 'I keep worrying'.
How do you pronounce “그저 내 곁에 stay with me”?
“그저 내 곁에 stay with me” from “STAY” by BLACKPINK is romanized as “geujeo nae gyeote stay with me”: that is how it is actually sung, sound changes included, not the textbook spelling.
Where can I see every line of “STAY” explained?
This page explains 4 key lines. In the theIDOL app Mina goes through all 47 lines word by word, in sync with the song; the first verse is free and needs no sign-up.
Official music video
The video loads from YouTube only when you press play. YouTube ↗
How we make these breakdowns
theIDOL builds every breakdown with AI assistance and automated checks, and publishes a page only after it passes them. An AI model writes the meaning of each line and the word-by-word glosses from the song's timed lyrics. The pronunciation comes from our own rule-based Korean transcriber, which spells how the words sound when sung, sound changes included, not a letter-by-letter romanization. Pages that fail the audio-sync or translation checks are not published, and we quote only a few key lines. If you spot a mistake, write to support@theidol.ai and we will fix it.
Credits and sources
- Artist
- BLACKPINK
- Official video
- BLACKPINK · YouTube
Lyrics and music belong to their rights holders. This page quotes no more than four lines for commentary; the translations, pronunciation and explanations are written by theIDOL.