Korean Spices and Sauces Vocabulary: Word List with Audio and Examples

Korean Spices and Sauces Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 30 words in five groups. It belongs to Ingredients. The first group is the three fermented pastes that define the cuisine. The rest cover dry spices, oils and vinegar, salt and sweeteners, and the dips you meet at the table. The vocabulary is practical, because jars and bottles in a supermarket carry these words on the front label.

Many words repeat a smaller one. 참기름 is 참 plus 기름, 초간장 is 초 plus 간장, and 양념장 is 양념 plus 장. When you learn the parts, a new sauce name looks familiar.

Which Sauces and Seasonings Should You Learn First?

Learn 간장, 고추장, 된장, 소금 and 설탕 first. Most Korean home recipes call for at least two of them. A short sentence such as 간장을 조금 넣어요 (I add a little soy sauce) uses the first of them with a very common phrase for a small amount.

• Words to say. 간장, 고추장, 된장, 소금, 설탕. Use these when you cook or shop.
• Words to recognise. 쌈장, 참기름, 들기름, 액젓, 초장. They appear on menus and bottles.
• Words to separate. 고추장 (paste) and 고춧가루 (flakes) look alike but are different.

The cooking vocabulary list uses these seasonings in recipe steps. The scene below shows a supermarket shelf with numbered jars that match the list.

Word · 24

1. 1

   고추장

   Play

   gochujang

   red pepper paste (gochujang)

2. 2

   된장

   Play

   doenjang

   soybean paste (doenjang)

3. 3

   쌈장

   Play

   ssamjang

   wrap sauce (ssamjang)

4. 4

   간장

   Play

   ganjang

   soy sauce

5. 5

   양념

   Play

   yangnyeom

   seasoning; marinade

6. 6

   액젓

   Play

   aekjeot

   fish sauce

7. 7

   소스

   Play

   soseu

   sauce (Western style)

8. 8

   고춧가루

   Play

   gochutgaru

   red pepper flakes

9. 9

   후추

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   huchu

   black pepper

10. 10

    깨

    Play

    kkae

    sesame seeds

11. 11

    겨자

    Play

    gyeoja

    mustard

12. 12

    계피

    Play

    gyepi

    cinnamon

13. 13

    카레

    Play

    kare

    curry powder; curry

14. 14

    향신료

    Play

    hyangsinnyo

    spices

15. 15

    기름

    Play

    gireum

    oil; fat

16. 16

    참기름

    Play

    chamgireum

    sesame oil

17. 17

    들기름

    Play

    deulgireum

    perilla oil

18. 18

    식용유

    Play

    sigyongnyu

    cooking oil

19. 19

    식초

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    sikcho

    vinegar

20. 20

    소금

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    sogeum

    salt

21. 21

    설탕

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    seoltang

    sugar

22. 22

    꿀

    Play

    kkul

    honey

23. 23

    물엿

    Play

    mullyeot

    corn syrup; starch syrup

24. 24

    올리고당

    Play

    olligodang

    oligosaccharide syrup

Core Pastes and Sauces

Three fermented products carry Korean cooking: 간장 (soy sauce), 된장 (soybean paste) and 고추장 (red pepper paste). They are made from fermented soybeans, and each has its own taste. Add 쌈장, a table dip made from 된장 and 고추장, and you have the foundation of the Korean pantry. The suffix 장 appears in all four names and means a fermented sauce or paste.

The suffix 장 is a pattern worth learning. It also appears in 양념장 (seasoned sauce) and 초간장 (vinegar soy sauce) later on this page. When you see a new word ending in 장 on a menu, expect a sauce or paste. See soy sauce in Korean for one word in detail.

Example Sentences

Three frames carry most of the examples. The first is sauce + 을/를 + verb, as in 간장을 조금 넣어요 (I add a little soy sauce). The second is seasoning + 이/가 + describing word, as in 소금이 짜요 (the salt is salty). The third is food + 을/를 + sauce + 에 + 찍어요, as in 만두를 초간장에 찍어요. Say each aloud after the audio and swap in another sauce. Use 을 after a consonant (간장을) and 를 after a vowel (깨를).

How Do You Say Spices and Powders in Korean?

Spices and powders add heat and aroma. The key word is 고춧가루 (red pepper flakes), the dried chili that colours kimchi. It is not the same as 고추장, the paste. Sesame seeds (깨) go on almost every side dish, and 향신료 is the general word for spices.

The shopping mistake is common: 고춧가루 and 고추장 sound alike but are different products. 고춧가루 is a dry powder or flake. 고추장 is a wet paste. If a recipe calls for one, the other is not a substitute.

Oils and Vinegar

Oils and vinegar finish Korean dishes. 기름 is the general word for oil or fat. 참기름 (sesame oil) is added at the end for fragrance, and 들기름 (perilla oil) is a nuttier oil used in side dishes. 식용유 is plain cooking oil for frying.

Compare 참기름 and 들기름. Both are pressed from seeds. 참기름 is made from sesame, 들기름 from perilla, and each suits different side dishes.

How Do You Say Salt, Sugar and Sweeteners in Korean?

Salt, sugar and sweeteners round out the pantry. 소금 and 설탕 are the two basic seasonings, and Korean recipes also use syrups, such as 물엿 and 올리고당, to give sauces a shine. 조미료 is the general word for flavour enhancers.

The pattern 설탕 대신 means instead of sugar. It uses 대신, the word for instead, which works with any noun. For one-word lookups, see salt in Korean and sugar in Korean.

Dipping Sauces

Dipping sauces arrive in small dishes at the table. 초장 is a sweet-sour chili sauce that goes with raw fish, 초간장 is a vinegar soy dip for dumplings and pancakes, and 양념장 is a seasoned sauce for rice and tofu. 마요네즈 and 케첩 are the Western bottled sauces that arrive with fried food.

The verb 찍다 (to dip) goes with every dipping sauce: 간장에 찍어요, 초장에 찍어요. Put the sauce first, then the particle 에, then 찍어요.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Sauce words contain tense sounds, nasal insertion and linking. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which writes the sound you hear in some cases and the spelling in others.

Two of these words have an inserted [ㄴ] sound. It appears when a word ending in a consonant meets a word starting with 이, 야, 여, 요 or 유, as in 물엿 and 식용유. The Revised Romanization writes the result: mullyeot and sigyongnyu.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Sauces and Seasonings?

Five mistakes appear often.

1. Buying 고추장 when the recipe wants 고춧가루. The paste is wet, sweet and thick. The flakes are dry. A recipe for kimchi wants flakes.
2. Mixing 간장 and 된장. Both are made from soybeans. 간장 is a thin dark liquid, and 된장 is a thick paste.
3. Reading the jar romanization as the rule. Jars print gochujang, doenjang and gochugaru. These are spellings for shoppers, and the Revised Romanization of 고춧가루 is gochutgaru.
4. Confusing 참기름 and 들기름. One is sesame oil and the other is perilla oil. They have different flavours and are not interchangeable.
5. Skipping the 장 pattern. 장 marks a sauce or paste. Recognise it, and 쌈장, 초장 and 양념장 become easy.

Fixing these five makes a shopping list readable. For a deeper look at one word, see soy sauce in Korean.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you recognise all 30 words. Second, switch to listening mode. Third, take the quiz. The deck holds all 30 words with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, read the labels on three jars in your kitchen and find the Korean word for each.

Where to Go Next

Korean spices and sauces vocabulary comes alive in recipes, so put it to work next. After this page, continue with cooking vocabulary, where these seasonings are used in recipe steps. Go back to Korean Seafood Vocabulary or Korean Meat Vocabulary. To move up a level, return to Ingredients.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Sauce in Korean?

A sauce is 소스 (soseu) when it is a Western-style bottled sauce. For a Korean fermented sauce or paste, the ending 장 is used: 간장 is soy sauce and 고추장 is red pepper paste. The general word for seasoning is 양념.

What Is Gochujang in Korean?

Gochujang is 고추장. It is a thick, sweet and spicy paste made from red pepper, rice and fermented soybeans. Say go-chu-jang in three even beats. It is used in bibimbap, stews and marinades. Jars often show a heat level, from mild (순한맛) to hot (매운맛) and hotter.

What Is the Difference between 고추장 and 고춧가루?

고추장 is a paste and 고춧가루 is dry red pepper flakes or powder. They both come from red pepper, but they cook differently. Kimchi uses flakes, while bibimbap sauce uses the paste. On the shelf, 고춧가루 comes in a bag and 고추장 in a tub.

What Are the Three Basic Korean Sauces?

They are 간장 (soy sauce), 된장 (soybean paste) and 고추장 (red pepper paste). The ending 장 means a fermented sauce or paste. 쌈장 is a fourth, a dip made from 된장 and 고추장. Together they season most Korean home cooking.

What Is the Difference between 참기름 and 들기름?

참기름 is sesame oil and 들기름 is perilla oil. Both are used as finishing oils for aroma. They have different tastes, so a recipe that names one expects that one. Sesame oil is the more common; perilla oil is often used for 나물 and spoils faster once opened.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid. Packaged goods use their own spellings, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

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