Korean Soups Vocabulary: 25 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Soups Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 25 words in five groups of five. It starts with everyday 국, moves to the heavier 탕, then gives a whole group to seaweed soup and its customs, a group for hangover and summer-heat soups, and ends with cold soups. It sits inside Korean Dishes and is the lighter companion to the page on stews.

Almost every name here follows one pattern: main ingredient + 국 or 탕. 콩나물 (bean sprouts) + 국 gives 콩나물국, and 갈비 (short rib) + 탕 gives 갈비탕. A few names break the pattern, such as 해장국 (hangover soup), which is named for its job and not its ingredient.

Which Soup Names Should You Learn First?

Learn 국 (soup), 미역국 (seaweed soup), 떡국 (rice cake soup), 삼계탕 (ginseng chicken soup) and 갈비탕 (short rib soup) first. They are the soups with the most cultural weight, and each one is tied to a custom or a season, which helps you remember it.

• Words to say. 국, 미역국, 삼계탕, 갈비탕. You will order them in a restaurant.
• Words to recognise. 북엇국, 곰탕, 해장국, 육수. They appear on menus and in recipes.
• Words about custom. 생일, 산모, 복날. They explain why a soup is eaten.

Soup is part of the basic Korean meal. A standard table is rice (밥), soup (국), and side dishes (반찬). Soup comes with the meal, not before it, and it is eaten alongside the rice.

Word · 8

1. 1

   국

   Play

   guk

   soup

2. 2

   된장국

   Play

   doenjangguk

   soybean paste soup

3. 3

   설렁탕

   Play

   seolleongtang

   ox bone soup

4. 4

   곰탕

   Play

   gomtang

   beef bone soup

5. 5

   미역

   Play

   miyeok

   seaweed (brown)

6. 6

   삼계탕

   Play

   samgyetang

   ginseng chicken soup

7. 7

   오이냉국

   Play

   oinaengguk

   cold cucumber soup

8. 8

   콩국

   Play

   kongguk

   cold soybean soup

Everyday Soups (국)

국 is the soup that sits beside the rice at a normal meal. It is light, clear and mild, and it is meant to be eaten with rice rather than alone. Home cooks make a pot for several days. The five words here are among the most common soups at breakfast, lunch or a holiday.

Every name ends in 국 and begins with the main ingredient, so 콩나물국 means bean sprout soup and 떡국 is 떡 (rice cake) + 국. 떡국 is also the one with a calendar: it is the dish of 설날, the Lunar New Year.

Example Sentences

Three frames cover almost every example. The first is noun + 을/를 + verb, as in 국을 먹어요 (I eat soup). The second is noun + 이/가 or 은/는 + adjective, as in 콩나물국이 시원해요 (the bean sprout soup is refreshing). The third is noun + 한 그릇 주세요 (please give me one bowl of noun), the natural way to order a bowl of soup. The counter 그릇 means bowl. Play the audio, then say each sentence aloud before moving on to the words that describe a broth.

How Do You Describe a Soup's Broth?

Soup talk is mostly about the broth. Koreans use a few short adjectives to say what it is like. Each one is given below in the form that goes before a noun, so you can say 맑은 국 (a clear soup).

Be careful with 시원하다. It does not only mean cool. For a hot soup it means refreshing and satisfying, as in 국물이 시원해요 (the broth is refreshing). You can use it for a cold drink too. If you want to say a broth is spicy, use 매워요, and if you want to say it is warm, use 따뜻해요.

How Do You Say Hot Meaty Soups (탕) in Korean?

탕 is a hot soup that is richer and heavier than 국. It is usually based on bones or meat that simmer for hours, and the broth is served in a large bowl with rice. Restaurants often specialise in one 탕, and you can tell what they sell by the word on the sign. Bone soups such as 설렁탕 come lightly seasoned, and you add salt at the table to taste.

Do not think of 탕 as a different kind of food. It is a heavier version of the same idea, and the line is blurry. The practical test is the situation: a 국 is part of an everyday meal, and a 탕 is the main dish or a special meal.

Seaweed Soup and Birthday Custom

미역국 is the soup most tied to a custom. Many Koreans eat it on their birthday, and new mothers traditionally eat it for weeks after giving birth, because the seaweed (미역) is believed to help a mother recover. On a birthday, the soup is also a way to remember the mother who gave birth, so eating it is a quiet thank-you.

Do not skip the custom when you learn the word. Saying 미역국 먹었어요? (did you eat seaweed soup?) is a friendly way to ask someone about their birthday. Keep in mind that this is a general custom. Individual families and regions vary, and some people prefer other dishes.

Why Do Koreans Eat Seaweed Soup on Birthdays?

Seaweed soup is eaten on birthdays because it is tied to childbirth. After a birth, a mother is traditionally given 미역국 for the first weeks to help her recover. Over time, the soup became linked to the birth itself, so on a birthday many Koreans eat 미역국 as a way to honour their mother.

There is a second belief that learners hear: the seaweed is slippery, and 미끄러지다 (to slip) is also slang for failing an exam, so some people avoid it before exams. This is a folk belief and not a rule, and it comes up as a joke. If you ever hear 시험 전에는 미역국을 안 먹어요 (I do not eat seaweed soup before an exam), that is the idea. The first custom is the one worth learning. Say 생일 축하해요 (happy birthday) and then ask 미역국 먹었어요?

How Do You Say Hangover and Summer Soups in Korean?

Two situations call for a soup in Korean life: a hot summer, and a hard morning after drinking. For the first, Koreans eat 삼계탕 on the hottest days. This is an idea called 이열치열 (fighting heat with heat), the belief that hot food restores energy in hot weather. For the second, they eat 해장국, a soup meant to soothe the stomach.

Both customs are part of the way people talk about food, so you will hear them in daily conversation. 보양식 is the general word for stamina food eaten for health. A Korean friend may say 오늘은 삼계탕 먹자 (let us eat samgyetang today, casual speech) on a day that feels especially hot.

Cold Soups

Cold soups are a surprise to many visitors, but they are common in Korean summers. A cold soup is called 냉국 (naengguk), from 냉, which means cold. It is made by pouring a chilled broth over thin vegetables, with vinegar and soy sauce for a sour taste. 콩국 is a different idea, a cold soup of ground soybeans that is usually eaten with noodles.

육수, the stock, is the base of both hot and cold soups: a 국 uses it hot, and some 냉국 recipes use it chilled. The cold noodle dish 냉면 is also served in a chilled broth; see the Korean noodles vocabulary page.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Soup names contain many tense sounds. After a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, the ㄱ of 국 is always tense (미역국 [미역꾹]); after ㅇ, ㄴ, ㄹ or ㅁ, the tensing is a property of each compound word (해장국 [해장꾹]), so learn it word by word. 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 [꾹] in 국 is the sound learners most often get wrong. It occurs in most soup names on this page where 국 follows a consonant. Say it with a tight throat and no puff of air. Many learners hear it as a hard g, but it is not a voiced sound.

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 Soup Names?

These five mistakes cause most of the confusion at a soup restaurant.

1. Using 국 and 탕 as if they were the same. 국 is an everyday soup, and 탕 is a heartier dish. 갈비탕 is ordered as a meal on its own, while 콩나물국 usually comes as part of a set meal.
2. Forgetting the tense [꾹]. Say [미역꾹], not [미역국]. The tight sound is part of the word.
3. Looking for a knife for 삼계탕. The chicken comes whole. Pull the meat off with chopsticks and a spoon, and eat the rice stuffed inside.
4. Taking 시원하다 to mean cold only. For a hot soup, it means refreshing. A 시원한 국물 can be piping hot.
5. Assuming the birthday custom is a rule. It is a widespread custom, and families differ.

With the main-ingredient pattern and the 국 versus 탕 distinction, you can read a soup menu even when you do not know every word. The next step is to drill the words.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you recognise each of the 25 words. Second, switch to listening mode. 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 25 words by hand and circle the 국 or 탕 ending in each name.

Where to Go Next

Once the Korean soups vocabulary on this page feels familiar, continue with Korean Stews (Jjigae) Vocabulary, the thicker dishes, or Korean Side Dishes (Banchan) Vocabulary for the small plates that come with soup. To move up a level, return to Korean Dishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Soup in Korean?

Soup is 국 (guk) for an everyday soup served in a bowl, and 탕 (tang) for a hearty hot soup. Name the dish with the main ingredient, as in 콩나물국 or 갈비탕. To order, say 갈비탕 한 그릇 주세요 (one bowl of short rib soup, please).

What Is the Difference between Guk and Tang?

A 국 is a lighter, everyday soup served with rice. A 탕 is a heartier hot soup, often from bones or meat, eaten as a main dish or on a special day. The line is not strict, so use the dish name rather than relying on the ending alone.

What Is Samgyetang?

삼계탕 (samgyetang) is a whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng, jujube and garlic and simmered in broth. It is eaten most on 복날, the hottest days of summer, following the idea 이열치열 (fight heat with heat). Season it at the table with the salt and pepper provided.

Where Can I Practise Soup Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 25 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, in recognition and listening modes. Your progress stays in your browser, so you can return daily and 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 Soup 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 25 words.

Save This to Pinterest