What's the difference between 혼자 and 홀로?
I know they both mean alone but is there a difference? I actually have only heard 홀로 a few times in songs, 1 being Breathe by G-Dragon. I read somewhere that there is no difference and that G-Dragon just used it because it sounded better than 혼자. Is this true or is there a difference?

Thanks!

Question

What's the difference between 혼자 and 홀로?
I know they both mean alone but is there a difference? I actually have only heard 홀로 a few times in songs, 1 being Breathe by G-Dragon. I read somewhere that there is no difference and that G-Dragon just used it because it sounded better than 혼자. Is this true or is there a difference?

Thanks!

Answer

혼자 and 홀로 as an adverb both have same meaning of "alone, (all) by oneself, (all) on one's own".
혼자 is mostly used colloquially. 홀로 is used for a literary style sentence.
Also, 혼자 can be used as a noun.
ex)
그녀는 아직 혼자다 
She is still unmarried.
이건 혼자만 알고 계세요 
Please keep this to yourself.

Answer

They both mean "alone," but 홀로 is mostly used in literature/song lyrics. You won't really hear people say 홀로 to mean "alone" in real life situations.

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