Respect

(Lyrics in colour are the official lyrics, lyrics in black are translations. Official English lyrics are italicized.)

RM SUGA both

put your hands in the air

(put your hands in the air)

just like you don’t care

(just like you don’t care)

ayo suga! (왜?) 요즘 날 떠다니는 단어 (뭔데?)

ayo suga! (what?) these days there’s a word that’s been floating around me (what’s that?)

“respect” 근데 요샌 뜻이 좀 헷갈려 (어?)

“respect”, but i'm a bit confused as to its meaning (oh?)

그걸 한대 누굴 자꾸 뭐만 하면 (왜?)

it’s all they say whenever someone does something (why?)

나도 잘 몰라 brother, 낸들 알어 

i dunno either, brother, it beats me

분명히 사랑보다 상위 (위)

clearly compared to love, it’s on a higher tier (tier)

상위 어쩜 그 중 최상위 (위)

a higher tier, maybe even the highest tier (tier)

에 존재하고 있는 개념이

is that not where the concept of the word respect

존경이란 거 아냐 huh? (내 말이)

exists, huh? (i think so)

“re-spect” 말 그대로 보고 자꾸 보는 거

“re-spect”, like the word itself, is to look and keep looking

자꾸 보다보면은 단점이 보여

if you keep looking, you’re bound to see flaws

but 그럼에도 자꾸 보고 싶단 거

but even so, respect’s that you want to keep looking

필요하지 그 누구를 향한 완벽한 신념

it’s necessary, right, to have complete faith in someone 

해서 난 도무지 쉽게 말 못 해 (right)

it’s like this, so, it’s not an easy word to say (right)

아득하거든 그 무게와 두께 (두껍네)

 it’s vague, you see, the weight and density (it is dense)

언젠가 당당히 말할 수 있게 되기를 

someday, i hope to be able to confidently say it

진심을 다해서 내게도 네게도

in all truth, to me, and to you.

부디 존경을 쉽게 말하지 마 yeah

please don’t use the word respect easily yeah

아직 나도 잘 모르겠으니까

cause I too am still not familiar with the meaning yeah

나도 가끔 내가 무서우니까 

cause i too sometimes am afraid of who i can be

약한 내가 간파당하면 어쩌지 

what if they see through to the weaknesses in me?

[respect!] 쉽게들 말하네

[respect!] they say it so easily

[respect!] 뭔지 모르는데

[respect!] without knowing what it means

[respect!] 다시 들여다보길

[respect!] hope that they re-inspect 

[respect!] one time

[respect!] two times

[respect!] 쉽겐 말 안 할래

[respect!] i won’t say it easily

[respect!] 아직 잘 몰라도

[respect!] though i’m still not familiar with the meaning

[respect!] 언젠가 말할게 

[respect!] someday i’m gonna say it

[respect!] one time

[respect!] oh yeah

respect이 뭔데 (뭔데요 형?)

what is respect? (what is it, hyung?)

몰라서 묻는 거야 임마 (아 그래요?)

i’m asking ‘cause i don’t know, brat (ah, i see) 

respect이 뭐길래 (뭐길래?)

so what might respect be (what might it be?)

다른 respect을 말하는지 

and why does everyone say it

솔직히 이해가 안 되네 

i honestly don’t understand

누구를 존경한다는 게

was admiring somebody else

그렇게 쉬운 거였니 (맞아요!)

that easy of a task for them (that's right!)

아직도 이해가 안 되네 

i still don’t understand! 

솔까 존경 존경은 필요 없지 (맞아요 형!)

to be honest when there’s not even respect (that’s right hyung!)

존중조차도 없는데 (인정!)

there’s no need for admiration (indeed!) 

뒤에서 호박씨 까는 거 (호박씨)

everyone but you is aware (is aware)

너 빼곤 아는데 글쎄

how two-faced you are, so, well

나는 솔직히 너를 respect

honestly, i respect you

너도 나를 respect 

my expectations that you’d respect

할 거라는 생각은 1도 없으니 스킵해

me too are at approximately a zero, so skip it

respect, 나는 너를 respect

respect, i respect you

웃으면서 욕하는 저 친구에게 박수

for that friend who talks ill with a smile, applause!

[respect, respect!]

너의 삶에 모든 영광과 번영이 깃들길 

hope your life is filled with glory and prosperity

[respect, respect!]

너의 앞길엔 영원한 축복이 함께하길

hope your path is forever blessed

[respect, respect!]

돈 명예 전진 전진 

money, honor, forward, forward

[respect, respect!]

그래 널 존경해 yeah

yeah, i respect you

[respect!] 쉽게들 말하네

[respect!] they say it so easily

[respect!] 뭔지 모르는데

[respect!] without knowing what it means

[respect!] 다시 들여다보길

[respect!] hope that they re-inspect 

[respect!] one time

[respect!] two times

[respect!] 쉽겐 말 안 할래

[respect!] i won’t say it easily

[respect!] 아직 잘 몰라도

[respect!] though i’m still not familiar with the meaning

[respect!] 언젠가 말할게 

[respect!] someday i’m gonna say it

[respect!] one time

[respect!] oh yeah

마 니가 respect을 아나 

hey, you know what respect is?

모르겠습니다 형님 (모르게심다 행님)

I do not, hyungnim.

나도 모르겠다 (나도 므로게따)

me neither.

와, 이리 어렵슴까, respect이-

Wow, respect is indeed this difficul-

존경!!

admiration!!

뭐, 다시 들여다 보라는 걸 모르겠습-

Having given it another look, I don’t kn-

존중!

acknowledgement!!!!

존경, 뭐?

what? admiration.

존중!

acknowledgement!!!

존경!

admiration!!!!

머, 이게 respect 아니겠나, 마 그런 생각을 머 하게되는데…

well, i’ve come to the conclusion that they’re both respect.

영어는 어렵심다 

English is hard.

그러니까… 

you got that right…

Translation Notes:

There are two words in Korean that mean respect, as you can hear them yelling at the end. "존경" "jon-gyung" means "admiration", the "i look up to you to you" kind of respect, and "존중" "jon-joong" means "I respect that", "I acknowledge your position", "I understand that this has value". Honestly, it's kind of a difficult concept for me as a native English speaker to see "respect" split into two concepts like this. To reverse Namjoon's comment at the end of the song, Korean is hard, lol.

"re-spect" is emphasized like this and then described in Korean because "re" is "to do again" and "spect" (from specere) is "to look at". "To look, and then to look again". Namjoon contemplates that maybe respect is called such because for you to want to keep looking at a person despite their flaws means you hold them in a certain esteem. Consider the weight of the word, he says, and maybe don't throw it around.

Yoongi's verse has similar themes: why are all these people saying "respect" so much? Was coming to admire (jon-gyung) someone else in that way really so easy? He abruptly switches from pondering the question to roasting someone, which seems quite on brand. Where the lyrics "everyone but you is aware how two-faced you are" are, in Korean it says "everyone but you about knows about the shelled pumpkin seeds in the back", which is an idiom used when someone pretends to be nice, but "in the back/out back" they're doing some not-so-great things.

When Yoongi tells whoever he's roasting that he "respects" them, he's using the English word. You could take this, as him not saying he admires them ("jon-gyung") or that he respects their position ("jon-joong"), he's saying that he's taking another look at them, (coincidentally, taking a second look at this two-faced person is a line that works really well in English) but has no expectations that they'll do the same for him. This, of course, is just an interpretation.

Yoongi and Namjoon warp their own lyric structures to sarcastically wish this disrespectful person all the best- the first two lines are similar to Yoongi's wishes in So Far Away and "꿈, 희망, 전신, 전신" (dream, hope, forward, forward, from Young Forever) becomes 돈, 명에 전신 전신 (money, honor, forward, forward)

There's an added level to the conversation at the end, where they're both speaking in the dialect from Yoongi's hometown (despite Namjoon being from Seoul and literally not having that accent), and Yoongi is speaking informal Korean, whereas Namjoon is being about as formal as it gets because in Korea, that is considered "respect". "Hyung" is the title a boy calls an older boy instead of his name, and "Hyungnim" is a very formal (though sometimes in a playful way) version of that. 

Okay, I have to be done here. Respect doesn't even look like a real word anymore.