Dictionary — Entry No. 0621
아직
ajik · adverb
아직
ajik
[AH-jik]
adverbbeginner
Meaning
Means ‘still’ or ‘yet,’ expressing that a state continues or that something has not yet happened. It works in both affirmative contexts (still doing something) and negative ones (not yet done), making it one of Korean’s most versatile time adverbs.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
아직 carries particular emotional weight in K-Pop ballads and melodramas — it is the language of unfinished love, lingering hope, and the ache of waiting. BTS’s ‘Spring Day’ is built on this feeling: still waiting for someone who has gone. The word threads through slow-burn romance dramas like ‘Twenty-Five Twenty-One,’ where feelings outlast the circumstances that created them.
Example Sentences
아직 안 왔어?
Ajik an wasseo?
Haven’t come yet? — casual check used when someone is late; simple but heard constantly in everyday Korean
나 아직 괜찮아.
Na ajik gwaenchana.
I’m still okay. — often delivered with forced calm in drama scenes, conveying someone barely holding themselves together
아직도 널 사랑해.
Ajikdo neol saranghae.
I still love you even now. — 아직도 (ajikdo) adds emphasis meaning ‘even still,’ used in confessions and ballad lyrics to signal stubborn, unresolved feelings
⚠️ Don’t use ajik when…
Mistake 1: Confusing 아직 (still/not yet) with 이미 (imi, already) — they are near-opposites and swapping them produces the opposite meaning. Mistake 2: Missing the shift from 아직 to 아직도 (ajikdo) — adding 도 intensifies the word to ‘even still’ or ‘still after all this time,’ implying surprise or stubborn persistence that plain 아직 does not carry.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Twenty-Five Twenty-One — the bittersweet theme of feelings that outlast their season makes 아직 one of the drama’s most emotionally resonant words, felt even when unspoken.
- K-Pop: BTS — Spring Day (봄날)
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.