Key Facts
- Hangul: 알레르기 (allereugi)
- Meaning: allergy
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: loanword
- Register: neutral; a standard medical and everyday term
- Level: B1
Allergy in Korean: What Does 알레르기 Mean?
알레르기 is a borrowed word, so it has no hanja. It works both as a medical term and in daily talk about food and seasonal complaints. You say you have it with 있다, as in 알레르기가 있어요, and name the cause before it: 꽃가루 알레르기 is a pollen allergy, and 음식 알레르기 is a food allergy. Related terms: 알러지 is a spelling variant, 과민증 is the medical word hypersensitivity, and 두드러기 means hives.
How Do You Pronounce 알레르기?
알레르기 has four syllables: al-le-reu-gi. The double ㄹ is one long l sound, and 르 uses ㅡ, an unrounded vowel, with lips kept flat. Add 가 and you get allereugiga, as in the first example. Keep the four beats even.
How Do You Use 알레르기 in a Sentence?
저는 꽃가루 알레르기가 있어요.
I have a pollen allergy.
jeoneun kkotgaru allereugiga isseoyo. 저는 꽃가루 알레르기가 있어요 says I have a pollen allergy. 저는 marks the speaker as the topic, 꽃가루 means pollen, and 있어요 is the polite form of have.
우유 알레르기가 있어요?
Do you have a milk allergy?
uyu allereugiga isseoyo? 우유 알레르기가 있어요? asks do you have a milk allergy? In Korean a question can keep the statement form and simply rise at the end.
알레르기 때문에 땅콩을 못 먹어요.
I cannot eat peanuts because of an allergy.
allereugi ttaemune ttangkongeul mot meogeoyo. 알레르기 때문에 땅콩을 못 먹어요 says I cannot eat peanuts because of an allergy. 때문에 gives the reason, and 못 means cannot. Romanize 못 and 먹어요 as separate words.
Common Word Combinations
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 알레르기가 있다 | to have an allergy |
| 알레르기 반응 | allergic reaction |
| 꽃가루 알레르기 | pollen allergy |
| 음식 알레르기 | food allergy |
알레르기가 있다 is the basic phrase for having an allergy. 알레르기 반응 is an allergic reaction, and 꽃가루 알레르기 and 음식 알레르기 distinguish pollen allergies from food allergies. Everything except the first phrase is a noun compound, so no verb is needed.
Common Mistake
Wrong: 알러지 (a spelling copied from the English sound).
Correct: 알레르기 is the standard dictionary spelling. 알러지 is widely seen in informal writing, but it is not the standard form.
Use 알레르기 on forms, menus and anything formal.
How Does 알레르기 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | Meaning | How it differs from 알레르기 |
|---|---|---|
| 알러지 | allergy (variant spelling) | A common informal spelling of the same word. |
| 과민증 | hypersensitivity | A medical term, broader than a specific allergy. |
| 두드러기 | hives | A skin reaction, which can be one effect of an allergy. |
Asking about a Dish at a Restaurant
A diner tells a server about a peanut allergy before ordering. The exchange names the ingredient directly rather than relying on a general request to change the dish.
Diner
땅콩 알레르기가 있어요.
Ttangkong allereugiga isseoyo.
I have a peanut allergy.
Server
어떤 메뉴를 보고 계세요?
Eotteon menyureul bogo gyeseyo?
Which menu item are you looking at?
Diner
이 소스에 땅콩이 들어가요?
I soseue ttangkongi deureogayo?
Does this sauce contain peanuts?
Server
주방에 확인해 볼게요.
Jubange hwaginhae bolgeyo.
I will check with the kitchen.
The diner first states the allergy, then asks about the sauce. 들어가요 literally asks whether the ingredient “goes into” it; in a food question, that means whether it is included. The server's final line promises to check. It is not yet an answer about the ingredients.
Which Allergy Phrases Are Useful beyond the Dictionary?
땅콩 알레르기가 있어요 is a complete statement about an allergy. The food name comes before 알레르기, and 가 marks the allergy as what the person has. 우유 알레르기 works the same way for milk. You do not need a Korean equivalent of the English adjective “allergic” to make this sentence.
알레르기 때문에 connects the allergy to a consequence. In the existing peanut example, 못 먹어요 means the speaker cannot eat the food. Compare that with 안 먹어요, “I do not eat it”, which can describe a choice or habit. Keeping the reason in the sentence helps a listener understand that this is about an allergy rather than taste.
알레르기 유발 물질 means “allergy-causing substance”, or allergen. 유발 means causing or triggering something, and 물질 means substance. This is useful label vocabulary: it names what can cause a reaction. 알레르기 반응 instead names the reaction itself. One is the trigger; the other is what happens in response.
Where Will You See 알레르기?
Food packaging and menu information may list ingredients under an allergy heading. Read the ingredient names as well as the headword: recognizing 알레르기 tells you the subject, but it does not identify the food being listed. A list of several ingredients is information about the product, not a question about your personal allergies.
At a clinic, a question about 알레르기 may concern food, medicine or another substance. 약 means medicine, while 음식 means food. Naming the substance gives a clearer answer than saying only that you have an allergy. The noun is neutral and works with polite everyday endings; there is no special honorific version of 알레르기.
The phrase 땅콩을 빼 주세요 means “Please leave out the peanuts”. It requests a change to the dish. It does not itself state an allergy, so keep the explicit allergy statement when that is what you need to communicate. A request about one visible ingredient also leaves open questions about a sauce or other ingredients.
Words for Explaining the Trigger and Reaction
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 성분 | ingredient; component | Useful when reading what a product contains. |
| 땅콩 | peanut | Goes before 알레르기 to name a peanut allergy. |
| 꽃가루 | pollen | Names a trigger outside food contexts. |
| 두드러기 | hives | Names a symptom rather than the allergy itself. |
The health vocabulary lesson gives you the surrounding words for symptoms and clinic conversations.
Quick Self-Test
- Where does the food name go in “peanut allergy”: before or after 알레르기?
- Does 주방에 확인해 볼게요 mean the server has already confirmed the ingredients?
- Which names the reaction: 알레르기 반응 or 알레르기 유발 물질?
Show answers
- Before it: 땅콩 알레르기.
- No. The server says they will check with the kitchen.
- 알레르기 반응. 유발 물질 names a substance that can trigger it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Spell Allergy in Korean?
The standard spelling is 알레르기. 알러지 is a common informal variant.
How Do I Say I Have a Pollen Allergy?
Say 저는 꽃가루 알레르기가 있어요.
How Do I Say I Cannot Eat Something Because of an Allergy?
Say 알레르기 때문에 땅콩을 못 먹어요, replacing 땅콩 with the food.
What Is 알레르기 반응?
It is an allergic reaction.
Where to Go Next
For related health words, open the health vocabulary list or browse Korean words A to Z. Next, see cough, and review the set in the vocabulary flashcard decks.