How to Read a Korean Menu: Dish Names, Portions, Spice and Allergens

Most dish names are an ingredient plus a cooking method

A Korean menu looks impenetrable until you notice that most dish names are built the same way: what goes in, then how it is cooked. 고등어구이 (godeungeo gui) is mackerel plus grilled. 오징어볶음 (ojingeo bokkeum) is squid, stir-fried. 김치찌개 (gimchi jjigae) is kimchi stew, and 갈비찜 (galbijjim) is braised short ribs. Read the last syllable or two first, because the ending tells you the format of the dish: how much liquid it has, whether it is grilled, fried or simmered, and roughly how it will arrive at the table.

Modifiers go in front. 매운 (maeun) means spicy, 해물 (haemul) seafood, 돼지 (dwaeji) pork, 소고기 (sogogi) beef, 닭 (dak) chicken, 버섯 (beoseot) mushroom and 두부 (dubu) tofu. So 해물파전 (haemul pajeon) is a seafood and green-onion pancake, and 버섯전골 (beoseot jeongol) a mushroom hot pot. Some names are fixed phrases that ignore the pattern, and the standard dictionary admits as much: 매운탕 (maeuntang) ends in tang, a word for soup, yet the dictionary defines it as a spicy stew with chili paste stirred in, the category Koreans call jjigae.

Menus are usually grouped by purpose. 식사 (siksa) means meals, the rice and noodle dishes that make a lunch or dinner; 안주 (anju), which the dictionary defines as food eaten with alcohol, means plates meant to go with drinks, usually shared. 주류 (juryu) is alcohol and 음료 (eumnyo) soft drinks. Small restaurants often post the whole menu on the wall, with 추천 (chucheon, recommended) or 대표 메뉴 (daepyo menyu, signature dish) marking what the kitchen is proud of. A short menu is usually a sign of focus, not a lack of choice.

Fifteen endings that tell you how a dish is cooked

These endings cover most of what appears on an ordinary menu, and the soup family needs the most care. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture separates boiled dishes by how much liquid they hold: 국 (guk) and 탕 (tang) have plenty of broth, while 찌개 (jjigae) has less and is seasoned with soybean paste or chili paste, so it is thicker, more strongly seasoned and meant to be eaten with rice. The standard dictionary lists tang as the honorific form of guk, and in practice tang tends to name heartier soups such as 갈비탕 (galbitang) and 삼계탕 (samgyetang).

Two other pairs confuse newcomers. 찜 (jjim) covers both steaming and cooking in very little liquid, so 갈비찜 is a glossy braise rather than a steamed dish. 조림 (jorim) means simmering something down until almost no liquid remains, which gives the sweet, salty glaze of 감자조림 (gamja jorim), braised potatoes. 전골 (jeongol) differs from 찌개 mainly in how it is served: ingredients arranged in a wide pot with a little broth, often finished on a burner at your table, and meant for sharing.

Ingredient words, including the ones that surprise people

A handful of nouns covers most proteins: 돼지고기 (dwaejigogi, pork), 소고기 (sogogi, beef), 한우 (hanu, Korean native beef), 닭 (dak, chicken), 오리 (ori, duck), 생선 (saengseon, fish), 오징어 (ojingeo, squid), 낙지 (nakji, small octopus), 새우 (saeu, shrimp), 조개 (jogae, clams) and 굴 (gul, oysters). For vegetables and staples, learn 두부 (dubu, tofu), 버섯 (beoseot, mushroom), 감자 (gamja, potato), 콩나물 (kongnamul, soybean sprouts), 나물 (namul, seasoned greens) and 계란 (gyeran, egg).

Then there is a short list of words for cuts and dishes that many visitors would rather know about in advance: 순대 (sundae, blood sausage), 곱창 (gopchang, small intestines), 선지 (seonji, congealed blood), 내장 (naejang, offal), 족발 (jokbal, braised pig's trotters) and 홍어 (hongeo, skate, often fermented). These are prized dishes, not traps, and several are worth trying. If you would rather not, these are the words to scan for.

Many menus also carry a small origin panel, 원산지 (wonsanji), listing where the main ingredients come from; our barbecue guide explains how to read it for beef and pork. Do not assume a familiar word settles the dish, either: 갈비 (galbi) simply means ribs, so look for 소 (so, beef) or 돼지 (dwaeji, pork) in front of it before you order.

Reading the heat before it reaches the table

Spice is usually announced in the name or the ingredients. Look for 매운 (maeun, spicy), 얼큰한 (eolkeunhan, hot in a warming, hearty way) and 칼칼한 (kalkalhan, sharply hot), and for the ingredients that carry the heat: 고추장 (gochujang, chili paste), 고춧가루 (gochutgaru, chili flakes) and 청양고추 (Cheongyang gochu, a small, very hot green chili). Mild cues are 순한맛 (sunhanmat, mild flavor), 맑은 (malgeun, clear, meaning a broth without chili) and 백김치 (baekgimchi, white kimchi made without chili flakes).

Some places print heat levels, often under 맵기 조절 (maepgi jojeol, adjustable heat), with steps such as 순한맛, 보통 (botong, regular) and 매운맛 (maeunmat, spicy). If chili heat is new to you, order one step milder than you think you need, because the regular level is set for local tastes. Red color is not a perfect guide either: chili flakes can be mild, and a pale broth can hide sliced green chilies.

To ask, say 이거 매워요? (igeo maewoyo?, is this spicy?) before you order, not after it arrives. Then 덜 맵게 해 주세요 (deol maepge hae juseyo) asks for less heat and 안 맵게 해 주세요 (an maepge hae juseyo) for none. A kitchen cannot take the chili out of a dish whose sauce is built on it, such as tteokbokki or jeyuk bokkeum, so for those the honest answer may be no. Choose a clear soup instead: 설렁탕 (seolleongtang), 갈비탕 and 삼계탕 all arrive without chili.

Portions, rice and the small print around the price

Grilled meat and many stews are sold by the portion, 인분 (inbun). A sign reading 2인분 이상 (iinbun isang) means the kitchen will not cook fewer than two portions per order. The Korea JoongAng Daily found diners turned away when eating alone at barbecue and kimchi-stew restaurants, and the Fair Trade Commission told the paper this is the owner's decision. Look for 1인분 가능 (irinbun ganeung) or 1인 가능 (irin ganeung), which welcome solo orders. Shared dishes often come in 소, 중 and 대 (so, jung, dae: small, medium, large); ask 몇 인분이에요? (myeot inbunieyo?) to learn how many each size feeds.

Rice is a separate line more often than visitors expect. 공기밥 (gonggibap) is a bowl of steamed rice, ordered when a dish does not include it, typically with grilled meat or a shared stew. The standard dictionary spells it 공깃밥, with an extra ㅅ, but nearly every menu writes 공기밥, and both mean the same bowl. 사리 (sari), which the dictionary defines as a coiled bundle of noodles, is the add-in you drop into a stew or hot pot: 라면사리 (ramyeon sari) for instant noodles, 우동사리 (udong sari) for thick wheat noodles. 추가 (chuga) means extra, as in 치즈 추가 (chijeu chuga), add cheese.

Two price rules work in your favor. Seoul's food safety office requires restaurants to show the final price, with VAT and any service charge included, so the menu price is what you pay and no tip is expected. Meat for the grill must be priced per 100 grams, with any per-portion price shown beside its weight. Watch for 시가 (siga), which the dictionary defines as market price: on a seafood menu it means the price moves with the day's catch, so ask before ordering. 곱빼기 (gopppaegi) at a noodle shop is a double portion in one bowl.

Which kind of restaurant you have walked into

The sign outside tells you how to order before you see a menu. A 분식집 (bunsikjip) is a snack shop; the dictionary defines 분식 as food made from flour, and the menu runs to gimbap, tteokbokki, ramyeon and dumplings, ordered by the item and eaten fast. A 국밥집 (gukbapjip) serves soup with rice, one bowl per person, which makes it the simplest solo meal in Seoul. A 고깃집 (gogitjip) is a barbecue house with grills at the table and, often, portion minimums.

At the formal end, 한정식 (hanjeongsik), which the dictionary describes as a set meal of many dishes based on the traditional Korean table, arrives as a full spread; check whether the listed price is per person or per table before you sit. The everyday cousin is 정식 (jeongsik), a main dish with a fixed set of side dishes. The dictionary notes that its price depends on how many side dishes come with it, which is why one menu can list two or three grades of the same 정식.

포장마차 (pojangmacha) shows how a word drifts: its first dictionary sense is a canvas-covered wagon, but on the street it means a tented stall or small bar where the menu is mostly 안주 to share over soju. Order one or two plates for the table rather than one dish each. The same rule suits most places with an anju section: dishes there are sized for the group.

Allergies, vegetarian diets and the seafood you cannot see

Labeling will not do the work for you. Under the enforcement decree of Korea's special act on children's dietary safety, the duty to display allergen information falls on franchise chains with 50 or more outlets, for the children's foods the law covers. A neighborhood stew house or market stall is not required to post anything. Plan to ask, and carry your allergen written in Korean: 땅콩 (ttangkong, peanut), 호두 (hodu, walnut), 잣 (jat, pine nut), 밀 (mil, wheat), 메밀 (memil, buckwheat), 대두 (daedu, soybean), 우유 (uyu, milk), 계란 (gyeran, egg), 새우 (saeu, shrimp), 게 (ge, crab), 조개 (jogae, shellfish) or 참깨 (chamkkae, sesame).

Some risks are built into the cuisine. UNESCO's description of kimjang, the kimchi-making tradition, describes kimchi as vegetables seasoned with spices and fermented seafood, so ordinary kimchi is rarely vegetarian. The words to know are 젓갈 (jeotgal, salted fermented seafood), 액젓 (aekjeot, the fish sauce strained from it) and 새우젓 (saeujeot, salted shrimp). Clear soups are not safe by default either: VisitKorea describes Gwangjang Market's knife-cut noodles as served in clear anchovy broth, and 멸치 (myeolchi) means anchovy. 메밀 in a name, as in 메밀국수 (memil guksu), signals buckwheat, and the encyclopedia lists barley among the grains used to make gochujang.

A few sentences cover most situations: 저는 고기를 안 먹어요 (jeoneun gogireul an meogeoyo, I don't eat meat), 이거 고기 들어가요? (igeo gogi deureogayo?, is there meat in this?), 육수는 뭘로 만들어요? (yuksuneun mwollo mandeureoyo?, what is the stock made from?) and, after your allergen, 알레르기가 있어요 (allereugiga isseoyo, I have an allergy). Ask about fish and anchovy separately, because a dish can be free of meat and still use a seafood stock or fish sauce.

For strict vegetarians, the most reliable option is temple cuisine: search 사찰음식 (sachal eumsik) on a map app for restaurants specializing in it, a tradition the Korea Herald describes as plant-based and rooted in respect for all life. Otherwise, choose dishes you can strip down, such as bibimbap with 고기하고 계란 빼 주세요 (gogihago gyeran ppae juseyo, without meat and egg), and leave the kimchi aside. Our Buddhist temples guide explains where temple food comes from.

Why the English spelling on a menu rarely matches

English menus in Seoul mix several spelling systems, which is why one dish can appear as kimchi, gimchi or kimchee. This guide uses the Revised Romanization of Korean, the official system published by the National Institute of Korean Language. It spells by pronunciation rather than letter by letter. An initial ㄱ is written g, so 김치 becomes gimchi, though kimchi is the established English word and you will see both. A final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ becomes k, t or p, and sounds that change where syllables meet are written as heard, so 국물 (broth) is gungmul.

Two more rules explain the oddities. Tense sounds that arise inside compound words are not marked, so 공기밥 is gonggibap even though it sounds closer to gonggi-ppap, and 떡볶이 is tteokbokki. A hyphen may be added where syllables could split two ways, which is why some guides, ours included, write 두 명이요 as du myeong-iyo. If the romanization on a sign does not match this guide letter for letter, sound it out, since pronunciation is what staff recognize. Better still, point at the Hangul.

Ordering at a stew restaurant, start to finish

Here is how a weeknight dinner for two runs at a neighborhood restaurant serving stews and pancakes. Staff ask 몇 분이세요? (myeot buniseyo?, how many?); you answer 두 명이요 and sit where they point. Read the wall: 식사 on one side, 안주 on the other. You want kimchi stew and a pancake, so you call 저기요 (jeogiyo) and point: 김치찌개 2인분하고 해물파전 하나 주세요 (gimchi jjigae iinbunhago haemul pajeon hana juseyo), two portions of kimchi stew and one seafood pancake.

Before the order goes in, ask 이거 많이 매워요? (igeo mani maewoyo?, is this very spicy?) and add 덜 맵게 해 주세요 if needed. If the stew arrives with rice in steel bowls, you are set; if not, order 공기밥 두 개 (gonggibap du gae), two bowls of rice. Halfway through, 라면사리 추가해 주세요 (ramyeon sari chugahae juseyo) adds noodles to the pot. Finish with 계산해 주세요 (gyesanhae juseyo) at the counter and 잘 먹었습니다 (jal meogeotseumnida) on the way out. Our table manners guide covers the courtesies in between.