나 말다

should I or shouldn't I

-나 말다 pairs a verb with 말다 'not do it' to lay both options out — Korean's way of dithering aloud: 모자를 써야 되나 말아야 되나 'should I put a hat on or not?', 진짜 가야 되나 말아야 되나 'should I really go or not?'. Six of these lines are that shape, usually spoken to oneself. The other two are the separate fixed phrase 보나 마나 'whether you look or not, i.e. it's obvious': 가보나 마나인데 'no point going, we already know'.

Register: casual; thinking out loud