What does 대답 mean?
대답 (dae-dap) means: Answer.
Usually demanded in frustration. '대답해' (Answer me!) is yelled when one person is pulling away and the other is desperate for closure or a reason.
◆ The Demand for Closure — Unlike a casual reply or general response, 대답 carries an inescapable moral weight demanding accountability. When someone insists on a 대답, they are refusing to let you hide behind silence, turning a simple conversation into an emotional crossroads.
◆ The Demand for Closure — Unlike a casual reply or general response, 대답 carries an inescapable moral weight demanding accountability. When someone insists on a 대답, they are refusing to let you hide behind silence, turning a simple conversation into an emotional crossroads.
🔊 From part 2’s story
대답 — Dae-dap
장난 — Jang-nan
말하다 — mal-ha-da, "to speak/say"
얘기하다 — yae-gi-ha-da, "to talk/chat"
반응하다 — ban-eung-ha-da, "to respond/react"
내 질문에 대답해 봐 — nae jil-mun-e dae-da-pae bwa, "Try giving me an answer to my question"
장난이잖아 — ya, jang-nan-i-ja-na, "Come on, it was just a joke"
한계 — Han-gye
Other sides of 대답
◆ The Immediate Obligation — In English, a delayed response or silence might just mean you're thinking. In Korea, a delayed *daedap* is weaponized as passive-aggressive defiance. The moment a superior, parent, or older peer calls your name, your vocal cords must fire instantly—even a simple '네'—because silence is coded as an active refusal to submit to the interaction. Learners often treat it like a simple information exchange, missing that failing to instantly 'return the sound' is viewed as a direct social insult.
◆ The Power-Dynamic Echo — In Korean, 'dae-dap' is rarely just an exchange of information; it is a signal of your perceived place in the social ecosystem. Using an elaborate, polite response reinforces the listener's authority, while a clipped or informal one asserts equality or distance. Learners often mistake 'dae-dap' for a neutral noun, failing to realize that how you choose to structure your reply acts as a live, real-time negotiation of the power dynamic between you and your interlocutor.
◆ The Power-Dynamic Echo — In Korean, 'dae-dap' is rarely just an exchange of information; it is a signal of your perceived place in the social ecosystem. Using an elaborate, polite response reinforces the listener's authority, while a clipped or informal one asserts equality or distance. Learners often mistake 'dae-dap' for a neutral noun, failing to realize that how you choose to structure your reply acts as a live, real-time negotiation of the power dynamic between you and your interlocutor.
Read the full story → · More on this word (part 2) →
How it's actually used
- 내 눈 똑바로 보고 대답해, 우리 진짜 끝인 거야?
Nae nun ttokbaro bogo daedaphae, uri jinjja kkeutin geoya?
Look me straight in the eye and answer me—is this really the end for us?
💡 Desperate demand for truth. - 피하지 말고 내 질문에 대답해 줘.
Pihaji malgo nae jilmune daedaphae jwo.
Don't avoid it, just give me an answer.
💡 Demanding a response from someone pulling away. - 왜 내 말에 대답이 없어?
wae nae mare daedabi eopseo?
Why aren't you answering me?
💡 Used in frustration when someone is ignoring you.