Korean Food WordsFood & dish words with romanization — free list
Ordering in Korean starts with the food words. This free list covers famous dishes — 김치 (kimchi), 비빔밥 (bibimbap), 떡볶이 (tteokbokki) — plus the everyday ingredients and drinks you will see on any menu, all with romanization.
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 음식 | eumsik | food |
 밥 | bap | rice / meal |
 김치 | gimchi | kimchi |
 불고기 | bulgogi | bulgogi (marinated beef) |
 비빔밥 | bibimbap | bibimbap (mixed rice) |
 김밥 | gimbap | gimbap (rice roll) |
 떡볶이 | tteokbokki | tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) |
 라면 | ramyeon | instant noodles |
 국 | guk | soup |
 찌개 | jjigae | stew |
 고기 | gogi | meat |
 생선 | saengseon | fish (food) |
 채소 | chaeso | vegetables |
 과일 | gwail | fruit |
 빵 | ppang | bread |
 달걀 | dalgyal | egg |
 물 | mul | water |
 우유 | uyu | milk |
 커피 | keopi | coffee |
 차 | cha | tea |
 반찬 | banchan | side dish |
 설탕 | seoltang | sugar |
 소금 | sogeum | salt |
💡 Good to know
The base word is 밥 (bap), which means both "cooked rice" and "a meal" — so 밥 먹었어요? ("did you eat?") is a common greeting. To say something is delicious, use 맛있다: 김치가 맛있어요 (the kimchi is delicious).
FAQ
- What are common Korean foods?
- 김치 kimchi, 불고기 bulgogi, 비빔밥 bibimbap, 김밥 gimbap, 떡볶이 tteokbokki and 찌개 stew. The full word list with romanization is above.
- How do you say "delicious" in Korean?
- Use 맛있다: 맛있어요 (it’s delicious). The opposite is 맛없다 (맛없어요, it doesn’t taste good).
- How do you order food in Korean?
- Say the dish + 주세요 ("please give me"): 비빔밥 주세요. Add a number with a counter for quantity — 김밥 두 개 주세요 (two gimbap, please).
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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)