Korean dish names = ingredient + cooking word
| Dish | Ingredient | Cooking word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 김치찌개 (kimchi-jjigae) | 김치 (kimchi) | 찌개 (jjigae, stew) | kimchi stew |
| 된장찌개 (doenjang-jjigae) | 된장 (soybean paste) | 찌개 | soybean paste stew |
| 생선구이 (saengseon-gui) | 생선 (fish) | 구이 (grilled) | grilled fish |
| 제육볶음 (jeyuk-bokkeum) | 제육 (pork) | 볶음 (stir-fried) | spicy stir-fried pork |
Check the last word and you’ll know whether a dish is grilled, a soup or stir-fried.
Common cooking words on a menu
| Hangul | Romanization | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 구이 | gui | grilled | 생선구이 (grilled fish) |
| 찌개 | jjigae | thick stew | 김치찌개 |
| 탕 | tang | soup (long-simmered) | 갈비탕 (short rib soup) |
| 국 | guk | soup | 미역국 (seaweed soup) |
| 볶음 | bokkeum | stir-fried | 제육볶음 |
| 전골 | jeongol | hot pot, cooked at the table | 버섯전골 (mushroom hot pot) |
| 전 | jeon | savory pancake / pan-fried | 해물파전 (seafood and scallion pancake) |
| 정식 | jeongsik | set meal | 불고기 정식 (bulgogi set meal) |
| 덮밥 | deopbap | rice bowl with topping | 오징어덮밥 (squid rice bowl) |
| 비빔 | bibim | mixed | 비빔밥 (bibimbap), 비빔냉면 |
| 면 / 국수 | myeon / guksu | noodles | 냉면 (cold noodles), 칼국수 (knife-cut noodles) |
Ingredient words you’ll see a lot: 고기 (gogi, meat), 돼지고기 (dwaejigogi, pork), 소고기 (sogogi, beef), 닭 (dak, chicken), 해물 (haemul, seafood), 두부 (dubu, tofu).
Reading classic dishes one block at a time
Each Hangul block is one syllable, built from a consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant. Split a dish name into blocks and you can sound it out.
| Dish | Block by block | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 김치찌개 | 김 (ㄱ+ㅣ+ㅁ) 치 (ㅊ+ㅣ) 찌 (ㅉ+ㅣ) 개 (ㄱ+ㅐ) | gim-chi-jji-gae | ㅉ is a double (tense) consonant; ㅐ is a compound vowel |
| 비빔밥 | 비 (ㅂ+ㅣ) 빔 (ㅂ+ㅣ+ㅁ) 밥 (ㅂ+ㅏ+ㅂ) | bi-bim-bap | the bottom consonants are batchim |
| 삼겹살 | 삼 (ㅅ+ㅏ+ㅁ) 겹 (ㄱ+ㅕ+ㅂ) 살 (ㅅ+ㅏ+ㄹ) | sam-gyeop-sal | all three blocks have batchim |
| 냉면 | 냉 (ㄴ+ㅐ+ㅇ) 면 (ㅁ+ㅕ+ㄴ) | naeng-myeon | ㅇ at the bottom sounds like "ng" |
| 떡볶이 | 떡 (ㄸ+ㅓ+ㄱ) 볶 (ㅂ+ㅗ+ㄲ) 이 (ㅇ+ㅣ) | tteok-bo-kki | the ㄲ of 볶 carries over into 이 |
More on each: Batchim / Double consonants / Compound vowels
Other words you’ll see on a menu
| Hangul | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 인분 | inbun | serving(s) — 2인분 = for two |
| 매운맛 | maeunmat | spicy |
| 순한맛 | sunhanmat | mild |
| 추가 | chuga | extra / add-on |
| 음료 | eumnyo | drinks |
| 포장 | pojang | to go / takeout |
Barbecue and hot pot are often sold by the serving, sometimes with a two-serving minimum.
Signs and station names work the same way
| Hangul | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 역 | yeok | station |
| 출구 | chulgu | exit |
| 환승 | hwanseung | transfer |
| 화장실 | hwajangsil | restroom |
| 명동 | Myeongdong | Myeongdong (an area in Seoul) |
How to practice before your trip
- Learn the cooking words first — 구이, 찌개, 볶음 and the others in the table above
- Sound out dishes you like — split them into blocks as shown above
- Try a real menu — a Korean restaurant near you, or the Hangul on a packaged Korean snack
New to the alphabet itself? Start with the Hangul chart.
Related: How to learn Hangul / Hangul chart / Batchim / Double consonants / Compound vowels / Korean keyboard / About Hangul Builder