Korean dish names are assembled, not invented: almost every one is ingredient + cooking method. 김치 + 찌개 = 김치찌개, kimchi stew. Learn about fifteen method words and twenty-five ingredients — roughly 40 words — and any menu in Korea becomes readable. Then learn the three house rules: 1인분 pricing, free 반찬, and rice ordered separately.
The menu is taped to the wall in a single column of Hangul. You can read it out loud — that is the strange part — you can pronounce every line perfectly and understand none of it. The owner is waiting. You point at line four and hope.
What makes this worth fixing is that Korean menus are unusually honest. An English menu says “house special.” A Korean menu tells you exactly what is in the bowl and exactly what was done to it, in three or four syllables. The information is right there. You only need the key.
The fifteen method words
Twenty-five ingredients that cover most menus
| Korean | Romanisation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 김치 | kimchi | kimchi |
| 된장 | doenjang | fermented soybean paste |
| 고추장 | gochujang | red chilli paste |
| 순두부 | sundubu | soft tofu |
| 두부 | dubu | tofu |
| 돼지고기 | dwaejigogi | pork |
| 소고기 | sogogi | beef |
| 닭 | dak | chicken |
| 삼겹살 | samgyeopsal | pork belly |
| 갈비 | galbi | ribs |
| 해물 | haemul | seafood |
| 오징어 | ojingeo | squid |
| 새우 | saeu | prawn |
| 계란 | gyeran | egg |
| 당면 | dangmyeon | glass noodles |
| 면 | myeon | noodles |
| 밥 | bap | rice, and by extension a meal |
| 떡 | tteok | rice cake |
| 야채 / 채소 | yachae / chaeso | vegetables |
| 버섯 | beoseot | mushroom |
| 파 | pa | spring onion |
| 치즈 | chijeu | cheese |
| 감자 | gamja | potato |
| 김 | gim | dried seaweed |
| 참치 | chamchi | tuna |
Ten dishes, taken apart
Three things the menu does not explain
| Word | Romanisation | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 1인분 | irinbun | One portion. Prices for grilled meat are per portion, and many places have a two-portion minimum (2인분부터). |
| 반찬 | banchan | The free side dishes. Refills are free too: 반찬 좀 더 주세요. |
| 공기밥 | gonggibap | A bowl of rice, ordered and paid for separately. Stew does not include it. |
| 기본 | gibon | Basic / standard version of a dish. |
| 곱빼기 | gopppaegi | Double portion of noodles, for a small extra charge. |
| 포장 | pojang | Takeaway. 포장이요 means to go, please. |
| 매운맛 | maeunmat | Spicy level. Some chains number it 1 to 5. |
이거 주세요. · igeo juseyo · This one, please.
안 맵게 해 주세요. · an maepge hae juseyo · Not spicy, please.
반찬 좀 더 주세요. · banchan jom deo juseyo · More side dishes, please.
계산해 주세요. · gyesanhae juseyo · The bill, please.
What changes when the menu opens up
It is not really about food. The menu is the first place where studying and living stop being separate activities. Every word above is a TOPIK 1 word you were going to meet anyway — 밥, 국, 고기, 맵다 — but here it arrives attached to something you actually want. That is the moment Korean stops being homework.
Point your camera at the menu
Hanguljo's on-device OCR looks up any Korean text through your camera — menus, signs, packaging — with images processed on your phone and never uploaded. Foundation lessons teach every letter with stroke order and native audio so the reading is real rather than guessed, the 7-stage SRS engine returns each new word on the day you were about to lose it, the TOPIK 1–6 lessons carry vocabulary, grammar and particles level by level, and the conversation track with play-along audio and shadowing gets you ordering out loud instead of pointing.
Learn Korean with Hanguljo - FreeQuick reference
- The formula: ingredient + cooking method.
- 국 personal soup · 찌개 shared thick stew · 탕 long-simmered · 전골 cooked at the table.
- 볶음 stir-fried · 구이 grilled · 조림 braised · 찜 steamed · 무침 tossed · 튀김 fried · 전 pancake.
- 1인분 is per portion, and many grills have a two-portion minimum.
- 반찬 side dishes are free and refillable; 공기밥 rice usually is not.
- 안 맵게 해 주세요 for not spicy — but not every dish can be adjusted.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 찌개, 국 and 탕?
국 is a light personal soup beside your rice, 찌개 is a thicker shared stew in the middle of the table, and 탕 is a long-simmered, usually meaty soup that can be a meal on its own. 전골 is cooked in front of you.
What does 1인분 mean?
One portion — and the price shown is per portion. Many barbecue restaurants and stews have a two-portion minimum, shown as 2인분부터.
Are Korean side dishes free?
Yes. 반찬 arrive unordered and refills are free: 반찬 좀 더 주세요. Rice, however, is usually ordered separately as 공기밥.
How do you ask for less spicy food?
안 맵게 해 주세요 for not spicy, 덜 맵게 해 주세요 for less spicy. Some dishes are built on chilli paste and cannot be changed.
How can a beginner read a Korean menu?
Learn the two sets rather than the dish names: fifteen method words and twenty-five ingredients decode hundreds of dishes. Hangul is phonetic, so you can already pronounce every line after a week.
Keep reading
The 55 Korean Signs You See Every Day
당기시오, 준비중, 셀프, 환승 - the words that run public space in Korea.
Korean Numbers: Both Systems
Why Korea has two counting systems and which one prices and portions use.
Free Korean Level Test
24 questions mapped to TOPIK 1 to 6. Find your level in five minutes.