Food
Korean expressions and words about Food, with examples and translations. Learn Korean with LearnK.
Food
110-
비빔국수 (bibimguksu) — The Summer Bowl You Mix, No Broth Involved
**비빔국수 (bibimguksu)** means “noodles you eat by mixing them with meat, vegetables, and all sorts of seasonings, without any broth.” On a hot August afternoon —
-
빈대떡 (bindaetteok) — A Rainy Day, and One Pancake of Ground Mung Beans
**빈대떡 (bindaetteok)** means a jeon — a pan-fried pancake — made by grinding mung beans that have been soaked in water, mixing in vegetables, meat and the like,
-
초밥 (chobap) — It's Not 초밥 Without the Rice
**초밥 (chobap)** is the Korean word for the Japanese dish made by seasoning rice with vinegar and salt, pressing it into small mounds, and either laying fish on
-
닭볶음탕 (dakbokkeumtang) — the spicy chicken dish you gather around one pot for on a rainy day
**닭볶음탕 (dakbokkeumtang)** means a spicy chicken dish made by chopping chicken into pieces and simmering it with water and seasonings like garlic, soy sauce, and
-
돈까스 (donkkaseu) — Korea's Dining-Out Memories in One Cutlet Bigger Than the Plate
**돈까스 (donkkaseu)** means a dish made by pounding pork thin, seasoning it with salt and pepper, coating it in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in that order, and dee
-
겉절이 (geotjeori) — The Taste That Lasts Only Kimjang Day: Kimchi You Eat Before It Ferments
**겉절이 (geotjeori)** means a side dish made by seasoning vegetables such as napa cabbage, lettuce, or radish so that you can eat it right away, without waiting f
-
길거리 음식 (gilgeori eumsik) — Where It's Sold Decides the Name
**길거리 음식 (gilgeori eumsik)** means food sold on the street so that you can eat it quickly and simply. It isn't a meal you sit down for and receive course by cou
-
입이 짧다 (ibi jjalda) — The Phrase for Someone Whose Chopsticks Barely Move at the Table
**입이 짧다 (ibi jjalda)** means that someone is picky about food and also eats only a little at a time. It's the first phrase Koreans reach for when they see someo
-
입이 심심하다 (ibi simsimhada) — Not Hungry, Just a Mouth With Nothing to Do
You had a big dinner. Your stomach is definitely full. But the moment you sink into the couch and put on an episode of a drama, your hand keeps drifting toward
-
칼국수 (kalguksu) — The One Bowl of Noodles Koreans Reach For on a Rainy Day
**칼국수 (kalguksu)** means noodles made by rolling wheat dough out thin and slicing it into narrow strips with a knife — or the soupy dish made by boiling those n
-
콩국수 (kongguksu) — The Sign That Goes Up on Noodle-Shop Doors When Summer Arrives
**콩국수 (kongguksu)** means a summer dish of noodles served in a milky broth made from ground soybeans and eaten cold. In Korea, once July and August arrive and d
-
손이 크다 (soni keuda) — The Person Who Makes a Washtub of Japchae for Six Guests
**손이 크다 (soni keuda)** means that the amount someone prepares or gives away at one time is unusually large — in other words, that they are open-handed and gener
-
떡꼬치 (tteok-kkochi) — Korean You Learn in the Alley Outside School
**떡꼬치 (tteok-kkochi)** means a Korean street food made by cutting **가래떡 (garae-tteok, cylindrical rice cake)** into short pieces, threading three or four of the
-
Tteokgalbi — Why Call It Tteokgalbi When There's No Rice Cake in It?
The first time most people see these three syllables on a Korean menu, they stop for a second. 떡 (tteok, rice cake)? 갈비 (galbi, ribs)? Why are those two stuck t
-
아귀찜 (agwijjim) — the name that jumps out first when winter work dinners come up
On a winter evening, when someone says "What should we eat tonight?" in an alley on the way home from work, there's one name that has a very high chance of jump
-
백숙 (baeksuk) — One Bowl, Simmered Long Without Seasoning: The Korean of the Dog Days
When summer reaches its peak, shops with huge cauldrons puffing out white steam open up in a row at the mouths of Korea's mountain valleys and along market alle
-
반반무많이 (banbanmumanhi) — A Whole Chicken Order in Five Syllables
**반반무많이 (banbanmumanhi)** means “make the chicken half seasoned and half plain fried, and give me lots of pickled radish.” Nine o’clock on a Friday night: a voi
-
초당옥수수 (chodangoksusu) — The Summer Corn You Just Bite Into, No Boiling Required
**초당옥수수 (chodangoksusu)** is the word for a summer corn variety so sweet you can bite straight into it raw — no boiling, no steaming. Once late June rolls aroun
-
Gomtang — the Word Held in a Bowl of Broth Simmered All Night
**곰탕 (gomtang)** means a soup made by simmering beef and beef bones long and slow. The occasions when a Korean reaches for this word are more predictable than y
-
곱빼기 (gopppaegi) — The Word That Fits Two Bowls into One
**곱빼기 (gopppaegi)** means two bowls' worth of food packed into a single bowl — and, by extension, "double the amount." Walk into a neighborhood Chinese restaura
-
핫도그 (hatdogeu) — In a Bun or On a Stick, It's Still a 핫도그
**핫도그 (hatdogeu)** is a word that covers two things at once: a long bun split lengthwise with a sausage tucked inside, and a long sausage skewered on a stick, c
-
잔치국수 (janchi-guksu): The Noodles You Eat Even Without a Feast — and '국수 먹여 주다'
**잔치국수 (janchi-guksu)** is a Korean noodle dish: thin **소면 (somyeon)** wheat noodles, boiled and slipped into a clear broth simmered from anchovies and kelp, th
-
짬짜면 (jjamjjamyeon) — Jjajangmyeon or Jjamppong? The One Bowl for When You Can't Choose
**짬짜면 (jjamjjamyeon)** means a Korean-Chinese restaurant dish that gives you **짜장면 (jjajangmyeon)** and **짬뽕 (jjamppong)** in one bowl, half and half. A divider
-
짜파구리 (jjapaguri) — Put Two Packets in One Pot and It Earns a Name
**짜파구리 (jjapaguri)** is a Korean instant-ramyeon dish made by boiling two products together in a single pot: **짜파게티 (jjapagetti)**, a black-bean-sauce ramyeon,
-
컵밥 (keopbap) — A Meal You Finish Standing Up, in Five Minutes
**컵밥 (keopbap)** means a cheap, fast meal: rice packed into a disposable container shaped like a paper cup, topped with side dishes and sauce, and mixed up with
-
콩나물국밥 (kongnamul-gukbap) — The Hot Bowl That Erases Last Night
If last night ran a little long, there's one word that surfaces in a Korean person's mind first thing the next morning. Not coffee. Not water. A bowl of broth s
-
물회 (mulhoe) — A Bowl of East Coast Summer, with Ice Cubes Bobbing on Top
물회 (mulhoe) means an East Coast–style raw fish dish: thinly sliced sashimi topped with vegetables like cucumber, Korean pear, and perilla leaves, then flooded w
-
Rabokki — Add One Portion of Noodles and the Name Changes
Look at the menu board in a Korean 분식집 (bunsikjip, snack bar) and you'll find another name sitting right under 떡볶이 (tteokbokki). It's **라볶이 (rabokki)**. 라볶이 mea
-
수제비 (sujebi) — A Bowl of Broth for a Rainy Day, Torn Off by Hand, Piece by Piece
**수제비 (sujebi)** literally means a dish made by kneading wheat flour into dough and tearing it into boiling broth bit by bit to cook. Monsoon rain hammering the
-
뜨아 (tteua) — The Two-Syllable Coffee Order You'll Hear All Day in Korea
**뜨아 (tteua)** is a two-syllable shortening of 뜨거운 아메리카노 (tteugeoun amerikano), a hot Americano. You'll hear it at the café counter, in the office when someone
-
밥심 (bapsim) — the Korean word for the strength that comes from eating
**밥심 (bapsim)** means the strength that appears in you after you've eaten. In Korea, when someone is drooping with exhaustion, the first thing out of your mouth
-
복날 (boknal) — Three Days a Year, When Koreans Eat the Hottest Thing on the Hottest Day
When mid-July comes around, a line forms outside Korea's 삼계탕 (samgyetang) restaurants every lunch hour — long enough to curl around the corner of the alley. Peo
-
청국장 (cheonggukjang) — The Fermented Stew That Scares You with Its Smell and Wins You Over with Its Taste
**청국장 (cheonggukjang)** means a kind of soybean paste made by fermenting boiled soybeans — or the stew you cook with it. If you open the front door at a Korean
-
닭강정 (dakgangjeong) — the Korean fried chicken that's actually better cold
Today's expression is **닭강정 (dakgangjeong)**. It means bite-sized pieces of chicken that are fried twice and then tossed in a sticky sauce made from corn syrup
-
어묵 (eomuk) — The One Word You Learn in Front of a Winter Street Stall, and How Far It Sits from '오뎅 (oden)'
**어묵 (eomuk)** means a food made by mashing fish flesh, kneading it with salt, flour, and the like, and then cooking it. On a Korean winter evening, when you co
-
갈비탕 (galbitang) — The One Bowl of Soup That Shows Up at Weddings and at Hangover Lunches
**갈비탕 (galbitang)** means a soup made by chopping beef ribs into pieces and simmering them for a long, long time. The situations where this word gets said in Ko
-
감자전 (gamjajeon) — The Words Koreans Reach For While Watching the Rain
When the monsoon rain starts drumming against the window, Koreans almost reflexively say the same thing: **비 온다. 감자전이나 부칠까? (bi onda. gamjajeonina buchilkka?)**
-
계란말이 (gyeranmari) — The Side Dish With the Recipe Built Into Its Name
계란말이 (gyeranmari) means a dish made by pouring beaten egg into a pan and rolling it up as it fries. When a Korean hears this word, the picture that comes to min
-
계란빵 (gyeranppang) — The Winter Street-Stall Bread Your Hands Remember First
**계란빵 (gyeranppang)** literally means "bread made by putting egg into flour dough and steaming or baking it." If you've ever walked past a street stall on a win
-
Jjajangmyeon — A Bowl of Black Noodles Eaten Off a Stack of Moving Boxes
**짜장면 (jjajangmyeon)** means a dish in which noodles are mixed with a sauce made by stir-frying meat, vegetables and other ingredients in Chinese-style soybean
-
찜닭 (jjimdak) — The Word for One Big Plate in the Middle, and Everyone Digging for the Noodles First
**찜닭 (jjimdak)** means a Korean chicken dish in which chopped-up chicken is braised down in a soy-sauce seasoning along with vegetables like potato, carrot, and
-
Maeuntang — The Red Pot That Comes Out After the Sashimi Is Gone
**매운탕 (maeuntang)** means a jjigae made by boiling fish and vegetables with gochujang stirred in, giving it a deep, spicy heat. It's that red pot you'll see in
-
막국수 (makguksu) — buckwheat noodles in cold broth, summer in a single bowl
**막국수 (makguksu)** means noodles made from buckwheat flour, served in kimchi broth or meat stock. On a midsummer afternoon, when even the air conditioner just i
-
무한리필 (muhanripil) — Pay Once, Eat Meat Until You Drop
**무한리필 (muhanripil)** means a way of selling food where you pay once and can then keep getting refills of a set menu, as much as you want, with no extra charge.
-
탕수육 (tangsuyuk) — Why There's Always One More Plate Next to Your 짜장면 (jjajangmyeon)
Today's expression is **탕수육 (tangsuyuk)**. 탕수육 means a Chinese dish made by coating meat in batter, frying it, and pouring over it a thickened starch sauce boil
-
Yukgaejang — One Bowl of Soup for Grief and for Summer Heat
**육개장 (yukgaejang)** means “a soup made by tearing boiled beef into fine shreds and simmering it with bold, spicy seasoning.” In the red broth you'll find beef
-
육회 (yukhoe) — Today's Korean Expression, Learned in a Market Alley
**육회 (yukhoe)** means a dish of beef sliced thin, seasoned with various condiments, and eaten raw. The situations where a Korean person actually says this word
-
보쌈 (bossam) — A Word That Calls for a Whole Table, Not Just a Plate of Meat
**보쌈 (bossam)** means thinly sliced boiled pork eaten wrapped in napa cabbage leaves or kimchi. The name already has the eating method built into it, so when a
-
불고기 (bulgogi) — Why Isn't It Spicy If It Has '불' (Fire) in the Name?
**불고기 (bulgogi)** means a traditional Korean dish of thinly sliced, marinated beef or pork cooked over fire. For a Korean, this word is less a line on a menu th
-
닭갈비 (dakgalbi) — Why a Dish Named "Ribs" Has No Bones in It
**닭갈비 (dakgalbi)** means "food made from a chicken's ribs or meat." In Korea, when someone says **우리 닭갈비 먹을까? (uri dakgalbi meogeulkka?)** — "Should we get dakg