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Korean · Frustration & Doom

아 몰라

a molla

ah MOHL-lah · /a mol.la/

Ugh, whatever / I'm done thinking about it.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"ah, (I) don't know"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

Not an information gap — a surrender. "아 몰라" means the topic has exceeded your remaining patience and you are formally logging out: which restaurant, whose fault, what to do about the deadline. 아 몰라, you pick, whatever happens happens. Often followed by doing the irresponsible thing anyway ("아 몰라, 그냥 시켜" — whatever, just order it). Grandma-safe, universal, and one of the most honest phrases in the language. The full flounce is "아 몰라 몰라" with a little shake of both hands, K-drama heroine style.

Heard in the wild

아 몰라, 다이어트는 내일부터.

Whatever, the diet starts tomorrow.

Where it lands

South Korea (universal)

Quick answers

What does "아 몰라" mean?
In Korean, "아 몰라" means "Ugh, whatever / I'm done thinking about it.". Literally it's "ah, (I) don't know". Not an information gap — a surrender. "아 몰라" means the topic has exceeded your remaining patience and you are formally logging out: which restaurant, whose fault, what to do about the deadline. 아 몰라, you pick, whatever happens happens. Often followed by doing the irresponsible thing anyway ("아 몰라, 그냥 시켜" — whatever, just order it). Grandma-safe, universal, and one of the most honest phrases in the language. The full flounce is "아 몰라 몰라" with a little shake of both hands, K-drama heroine style.
Is "아 몰라" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "아 몰라"?
Say it "ah MOHL-lah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: a mol.la.

Related in Korean

지랄 jiral jee-RAHL Bullshit / drama / throwing a fit — 'quit your nonsense.' 개소리 gaesori geh-soh-REE Bullshit / utter nonsense — what a dog says, which is to say nothing. 죽겠네 jukgenne jook-KEHN-neh …is killing me — the national suffix of exaggerated suffering. 귀찮아 gwichana gwee-CHAH-nah Can't be bothered / ugh, effort — the sacred national mood. 됐어 dwaesseo DWEH-ssuh Forget it / I'm good / enough — the conversational door closing. 헬조선 heljoseon hell-joh-SUN Korea-as-hell — the bitter national self-diagnosis.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Tough luck".

how to say "Tough luck" →

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