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Korean food and drink vocabulary with audio and mnemonics

Start with 11 food and drink words from our free first chapter. Listen before using the romanization as a shortcut.

고기 (gogi) means meat. 국 (guk) is soup; 두부 (dubu) is tofu. 음식 (eumsik) is the general word for food, although this starter list focuses on individual ingredients and drinks.

Listen and learn the words

오이 · cucumber

oi

Picture and sound mnemonic
A hulking green ogre hugs a screeching eagle so tight that a giant cucumber shoots out of its beak.
A hulking Ogre squeezes a screeching Eagle, launching a giant Cucumber from its beak.

오 (o) → Ogre + 이 (i) → Eagle

우유 · milk

uyu

Picture and sound mnemonic
Glowing green ooze pours onto a plump unicorn, who stirs it with its horn into a tall glass of white milk.
Green Ooze pours from a beaker held by an upside-down Unicorn, swirling into a tall glass of Milk.

우 (u) → Ooze + 유 (yu) → Unicorn

고기 · meat

gogi

Picture and sound mnemonic
A traffic light glowing green is wired to a giant gear that turns a roasting spit loaded with a big sizzling piece of meat.
A traffic light flashes Go, and a giant Gear starts turning a spit of sizzling Meat.

고 (go) → Go + 기 (gi) → Gear

고구마 · sweet potato

goguma

Picture and sound mnemonic
A goose dashes past a green traffic light and snatches a roasted sweet potato from a baby, who reaches after it crying.
A traffic light flashes Go, a Goose charges off the line, and a baby cries Ma as the goose snatches her roasted Sweet Potato.

고 (go) → Go + 구 (gu) → Goose + 마 (ma) → Ma

바나나 · banana

banana

Picture and sound mnemonic
A baseball bat knocks one plate of nachos into another, and a ripe yellow banana tumbles out between them.
A baseball Bat smacks a plate of Nachos into a second plate of Nachos, and out tumbles a ripe Banana.

바 (ba) → Bat + 나 (na) → Nachos + 나 (na) → Nachos

두부 · tofu

dubu

Picture and sound mnemonic
A wooden boomerang flies off a sand dune and slices through a wobbly white block of tofu.
A sand Dune flings a wooden Boomerang that slices clean through a wobbly block of Tofu.

두 (du) → Dune + 부 (bu) → Boomerang

국 · soup

guk

Picture and sound mnemonic
A goose wearing a gold crown slurps from a steaming black stone bowl of Korean soup.
A Goose wearing a gold Crown slurps from a steaming stone bowl of Soup.

구 (gu) → Goose + ㄱ (k) → Crown

커피 · coffee

keopi

Picture and sound mnemonic
A red-and-white striped paper cup tips over onto a hot pizza, splashing dark coffee across it.
A striped paper Cup tips over onto a hot Pizza, splashing it with dark Coffee.

커 (keo) → Cup + 피 (pi) → Pizza

김치 · kimchi

gimchi

Picture and sound mnemonic
A gear presses a mushroom into a wedge of cheese sitting on the lid of a glass jar of red kimchi.
A Gear grinds a Mushroom into a wedge of Cheese balanced on a jar of spicy red Kimchi.

기 (gi) → Gear + ㅁ (m) → Mushroom + 치 (chi) → Cheese

빵 · bread

ppang

Picture and sound mnemonic
A baseball bat smacks a little ping-pong ball into a fresh loaf of bread.
A baseball Bat smacks a little ping-pong ball, which flies off with a bright Ping into a loaf of Bread.

빠 (ppa) → Bat + ㅇ (ng) → Ping

물 · water

mul

Picture and sound mnemonic
A desk lamp bends down and squeezes a glowing crescent moon, which splashes a huge blue wave of water.
A giant Moon gets squeezed by a desk Lamp, splashing a huge wave of Water.

무 (mu) → Moon + ㄹ (l) → Lamp

Use a picture, then check recall

Read one picture and follow the sound cues in order. Close it, say the word and recall its meaning. A cue is an approximate memory hook; the recording supplies the pronunciation.

Test these words

Choose a mode and a group. Each round has up to ten questions. Wrong answers go into a retry round.

Try these questions, then open the answers. The interactive version needs JavaScript.

  1. What does 오이 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    cucumber — 오이 (oi) — cucumber. A hulking OGRE squeezes a screeching EAGLE, launching a giant CUCUMBER from its beak.

  2. What does 우유 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    milk — 우유 (uyu) — milk. Green OOZE pours from a beaker held by an upside-down UNICORN, swirling into a tall glass of MILK.

  3. What does 고기 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    meat — 고기 (gogi) — meat. A traffic light flashes GO, and a giant GEAR starts turning a spit of sizzling MEAT.

  4. What does 고구마 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    sweet potato — 고구마 (goguma) — sweet potato. A traffic light flashes GO, a GOOSE charges off the line, and a baby cries MA as the goose snatches her roasted SWEET POTATO.

  5. What does 바나나 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    banana — 바나나 (banana) — banana. A baseball BAT smacks a plate of NACHOS into a second plate of NACHOS, and out tumbles a ripe BANANA.

  6. What does 두부 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    tofu — 두부 (dubu) — tofu. A sand DUNE flings a wooden BOOMERANG that slices clean through a wobbly block of TOFU.

  7. What does 국 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    soup — 국 (guk) — soup. A GOOSE wearing a gold CROWN slurps from a steaming stone bowl of SOUP.

  8. What does 커피 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    coffee — 커피 (keopi) — coffee. A striped paper CUP tips over onto a hot PIZZA, splashing it with dark COFFEE.

  9. What does 김치 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    kimchi — 김치 (gimchi) — kimchi. A GEAR grinds a MUSHROOM into a wedge of CHEESE balanced on a jar of spicy red KIMCHI.

  10. What does 빵 mean?
    Answer and explanation

    bread — 빵 (ppang) — bread. A baseball BAT smacks a little ping-pong ball, which flies off with a bright PING into a loaf of BREAD.

Next: Korean reading practice · Animal vocabulary

Written by Remlori using examples and media from our beginner course. Alphabet reference: National Institute of Korean Language, Hangul principles. Romanization approximates the sound; use the recordings when practising.

Learn your first sounds, words and sentences. Lesson 1 needs no account.

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