Korean Banchan Side Dishes Vocabulary: Words and Examples

Korean Banchan Side Dishes Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 30 words in five groups of six. It follows the way a banchan table is built: pickles and kimchi first, then seasoned vegetables, then dishes that are stir-fried or braised, then egg and pancake dishes, and finally the dried and salted items that keep for weeks. It sits inside Korean Dishes, next to the pages for main dishes.

Most of the words are compound nouns. A compound noun joins two words into one, so 멸치볶음 is 멸치 (anchovy) plus 볶음 (stir-frying). Once you know the six method endings in the key facts, you can guess the cooking style of a dish you have never seen. That habit is the main idea of this page.

Which Banchan Side Dishes Should You Learn First?

Learn 반찬 (side dishes), 김치 (kimchi), 계란말이 (rolled omelette), 멸치볶음 (stir-fried anchovies) and 시금치나물 (seasoned spinach) first. They appear on almost every home-style table and in most restaurants, so you will meet them in the first week of eating in Korea.

• Words to say. 반찬, 김치, 계란말이. These are the names you use when you point and ask or when you order more.
• Words to recognise. 멸치볶음, 콩나물무침, 감자조림, 장조림. They appear on set menus and in lunch boxes.
• Words to read on labels. 젓갈, 장아찌, 김자반. These are common in the cold section of a supermarket.

Banchan are shared. Everyone at the table eats from the same small plates, and at many restaurants the staff will refill a plate if you ask. The polite request is 더 주세요 (please give me more). Check the menu or ask first, because some places charge for extra plates of certain items.

Word · 8

1. 1

   반찬

   Play

   banchan

   side dishes

2. 2

   김치

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   gimchi

   kimchi

3. 3

   나물

   Play

   namul

   seasoned vegetables

4. 4

   멸치볶음

   Play

   myeolchibokkeum

   stir-fried anchovies

5. 5

   계란말이

   Play

   gyeranmari

   rolled omelette

6. 6

   계란찜

   Play

   gyeranjjim

   steamed egg

7. 7

   젓갈

   Play

   jeotgal

   salted fermented seafood

8. 8

   밑반찬

   Play

   mitbanchan

   staple side dishes

Kimchi and Pickles

Banchan is the umbrella word, and kimchi is its best-known member. The six words here name the pickled side of the table. Korean makes pickles with salt, soy sauce, vinegar or chilli, so each word hints at the method. 장아찌 are vegetables kept in soy sauce or vinegar, while 단무지 is the yellow radish served with noodles and rolled rice.

Example Sentences

Three sentence frames cover almost every example here. The first is noun + 이/가 or 은/는 + adjective, as in 멸치볶음은 짜요 (the stir-fried anchovies are salty). The second is noun + 을/를 + verb, as in 김치전을 부쳐요 (I pan-fry a kimchi pancake). The third is noun + 주세요 (please give me noun), the polite way to ask for something at a table. Use the audio, then say each sentence aloud once.

Note the particle 이/가 in the examples. It marks the subject, as in 김치가 매워요 (the kimchi is spicy). You choose 이 after a consonant and 가 after a vowel. The pickles need no cooking at serving time, so they are ready as soon as you sit down.

How Do You Say Seasoned Vegetables (나물) in Korean?

나물 (namul) means seasoned vegetables or wild greens, and the dish name usually says which plant it is made from. The method word 무침 means mixing by hand with seasoning, from the verb 무치다 (to toss with seasoning). A 나물 is blanched, squeezed and mixed with sesame oil, garlic and salt. It is a gentle, usually non-spicy counterweight to kimchi.

Plain 나물 dishes are mild, so they pair well with strongly flavoured stews. A quick way to guess a name: plant name + 나물 for a blanched green, plant name + 무침 for a salad with a spicy or tangy dressing, and plant name + 생채 for a raw shredded salad.

Braised and Stir-Fried Banchan

These dishes are cooked with soy sauce, sugar and oil, so they taste salty and a little sweet. The two method words are 볶음 (stir-fried) and 조림 (braised, meaning simmered in a seasoned liquid until it is almost gone). 볶음 is said with a tense sound, and 조림 stays soft. Most of these dishes are made in a large batch and keep well in the fridge.

You will hear 볶음 as [보끔] because the ㄲ is a doubled letter that you say tight. The Revised Romanization writes it bokkeum. Spend a minute on this: once 볶음 sounds right, 멸치볶음, 어묵볶음 and 진미채볶음 all sound right.

How Do Banchan Names Show the Cooking Method?

Korean side dish names are built from an ingredient plus a method ending, and the ending is the part to memorise. The table below collects the six endings used on this page. Each one is a noun, so you can attach it to a new ingredient and get a correct dish name.

A small cautionary note. The pattern is a strong guide, not a law. 말이 in 계란말이 is not on the list because it names the rolling shape, and 생채 names a raw salad. When you meet a new name, check the ending first and the ingredient second. For the numbers you need to order, see the food counters page, where 가지 (kinds) is explained next to 인분 (portions).

How Do You Say Fried and Egg Dishes in Korean?

Egg and pan-fried dishes are the favourites of children and the quickest to cook. 계란 (gyeran) is egg, and the suffix tells you the method: 말이 means rolled, 찜 means steamed. The pancake suffix 전 (jeon) means a flat dish coated in egg batter and fried in a shallow pan. The word 부침 (buchim) is a related term that covers pan-fried foods.

Remember that 전 starts with a tense sound after a final stop such as ㄱ, so 호박전 is [호박쩐], while 감자전 keeps a plain ㅈ. Pancake dishes are often shared as a main dish at rainy-day meals and on holidays, but small portions of 전 still count as banchan.

Dried and Salted Banchan

The last group is the preserved side of Korean meals. Dried fish, salted seafood and seasoned seaweed last for weeks, so families keep them stocked. 밑반찬 (mitbanchan) is the useful umbrella word: dishes made ahead and kept in the fridge. 젓갈 is salted, fermented seafood, which gives kimchi its depth.

Salted items are strong, so they are eaten in tiny amounts with a spoonful of rice. The word 짜다 (to be salty) appears often in conversation about them. Some of these words are also on grocery shelves, so you will see them printed rather than spoken.

How Do You Ask for More Banchan?

Ask for refills with a short request and the dish name: 김치 더 주세요 (more kimchi, please). At many restaurants the staff will refill popular plates without a charge, but this is a custom, not a rule, so look at the menu or ask. Use 반찬 더 주세요 for more side dishes in general. To decline a refill, say 반찬은 괜찮아요 (I am fine for side dishes).

A table usually shows how many 가지 (kinds) it has. A simple home meal might have three kinds, while a 한정식 (Korean set meal) can bring a dozen or more. You count them with native numbers: 반찬 세 가지 (three kinds of side dishes), 반찬 다섯 가지 (five kinds).

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Banchan names contain several tense sounds and linking sounds. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization on this page follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark every sound change.

The tense sounds in 깍두기 and 호박전 are the ones learners most often miss. Say the tense sound with a tight throat and no puff of air. If you hear a puff, you are saying an aspirated [ㅌ] or [ㅊ] and the word will sound slightly wrong.

Audio and Slow Playback

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

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Banchan Side Dishes?

These five mistakes come up most often when learners order or talk about side dishes.

1. Treating 반찬 as one dish. 반찬 is a group word, so you do not say "one banchan" the way you say one plate. Count the plates by kind: 반찬 두 가지 (two kinds of side dishes).
2. Dropping the tense sound in 볶음. Say [보끔], not [보금]. A soft sound changes the word and some listeners will not catch it.
3. Mixing 나물 and 무침. 나물 names the vegetable dish, usually blanched and mild. 무침 names the method of tossing with seasoning, often with chilli or vinegar. Both translate as "seasoned vegetables", but the taste often differs.
4. Calling every pancake 전 without the ingredient. 전 alone is a type. Say 호박전 or 감자전 to name the dish.
5. Expecting every side dish to be free. Refills are common at many places, but not all. Ask first when you are unsure.

Once you can say the six method endings from memory, most of these slips disappear. For the longer words, try the slow audio before you start the flashcards.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you know each of the 30 words. Second, switch to listening mode and say the word before you look. Third, take the quiz. Your progress stays in your browser, and 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, copy the 30 words by hand, write the method ending beside each, and underline the 볶음, 조림, 무침 or 전 part.

Where to Go Next

Korean banchan side dishes vocabulary pairs naturally with the main dishes they accompany. After this page, continue with Korean Soups (Guk and Tang) Vocabulary, the next dishes on the table, or Korean Street Food Vocabulary for snacks you buy at a stall. To move up a level, return to Korean Dishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Side Dishes in Korean?

Side dishes are 반찬 (banchan). It is a collective noun, so use 가지 (kinds) to count, as in 반찬 세 가지. Add 더 주세요 to ask for more. English menus sometimes write banchan as panchan, but the Revised Romanization form is banchan.

What Are the Most Common Banchan?

Kimchi (김치) comes first. Next are 멸치볶음 (stir-fried anchovies), 시금치나물 (seasoned spinach), 콩나물무침 (seasoned bean sprouts) and 계란말이 (rolled omelette). Which dishes appear depends on the region, the season and the restaurant. Home tables often add a 밑반찬 such as 장조림 or 멸치볶음 kept in the fridge.

How Do You Pronounce 멸치볶음 (myeolchibokkeum)?

Say myeol-chi-bo-kkeum, but link the last two syllables so the sound is [멸치보끔]. The final ㄲ moves to the vowel of 음 and is said tight, with no puff of breath. Press the slow audio button on this page to compare.

Where Can I Practise Banchan Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 30 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, in recognition and listening modes. Your progress stays in your browser, and you can return daily to review the cards you missed.

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 and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Banchan Words?

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, copy the tables on this page by hand or use the flashcard deck, which carries the same 30 words.

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