Key Facts
- Hangul: 사과 (sagwa)
- Meaning: apple (a separate word 사과 means apology)
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean
- Register: neutral; shares its sound with the word for apology
- Level: A1
Apple in Korean: What Does 사과 Mean?
사과 is a Sino-Korean noun meaning apple. A second, unrelated word with the same spelling and sound means apology. Dictionaries give the fruit the hanja 沙果 (沙 sand plus 果 fruit), while the apology word is written 謝過, so they are separate headwords. The fruit word is neutral and works at any speech level. For the wider category the word is 과일, fruit, and a similar fruit is 배, pear.
How Do You Pronounce 사과?
The Revised Romanization is sagwa. The second syllable glides from a w sound into the vowel, so it is one beat, not two. Play the headword, then the examples. The fruit and the apology are pronounced the same, so audio alone cannot tell them apart.
How Do You Use 사과 in a Sentence?
사과 두 개 주세요.
Please give me two apples.
Sagwa du gae juseyo 사과 means apple, 두 개 is two items, and 주세요 turns it into a polite request. 개 is the general counter for objects, so this is what you would say at a market stall.
저는 아침에 사과를 먹어요.
I eat an apple in the morning.
Jeoneun achime sagwareul meogeoyo 아침에 means in the morning, with 에 marking the time. 사과를 is the object and 먹어요 means eat. Because 먹어요 appears, the word can only be the fruit.
이 사과는 달고 맛있어요.
This apple is sweet and delicious.
I sagwaneun dalgo masisseoyo 달고 means sweet and joins to 맛있어요, delicious. The sentence describes taste, so again the fruit sense is certain.
Common Word Combinations
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 사과를 먹다 | to eat an apple |
| 사과 한 개 | one apple |
| 사과 주스 | apple juice |
| 사과를 깎다 | to peel an apple |
사과를 먹다 and 사과를 깎다 show the fruit used with eating and peeling. 사과 한 개 is the counted form and 사과 주스 is apple juice. These collocations never take the apology verbs, which is the fastest way to keep the two words apart.
Common Mistake
Learners hear 사과 and always think of the fruit, or always of the apology.
Wrong: reading 사과드리다 as something to do with apples.
Correct: 사과를 먹다 means to eat an apple; 사과를 하다 or 사과드리다 means to apologize. The nouns are identical, so the verb tells you which one you are hearing.
How Does 사과 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | Meaning | How to tell it from 사과 |
|---|---|---|
| 사과 | apology | 사과 as apology has the same Hangul and sound but a separate word (謝過). Look at the verb: 먹다 means the fruit, 하다 or 드리다 means apology. |
| 배 | pear | 배 is a pear. It is a different fruit with its own word, so it is not a spelling variant of 사과. |
| 과일 | fruit | 과일 is the general word fruit. 사과 is one specific fruit. |
Choosing Apples at a Fruit Stall
A shopper asks about taste before buying. The seller answers about this batch of apples, and the shopper requests two.
Shopper
이 사과 달아요?
I sagwa darayo?
Are these apples sweet?
Seller
네, 달고 맛있어요.
Ne, dalgo masisseoyo.
Yes, they are sweet and delicious.
Shopper
그럼 두 개 주세요.
Geureom du gae juseyo.
Then please give me two.
Seller
네, 여기 있어요.
Ne, yeogi isseoyo.
Sure, here you are.
The shopper can omit 사과 from the request because both people are looking at the fruit. 두 개 still tells the seller how many to give. The question uses 달아요, “is sweet,” while the answer uses 달고, “sweet and,” to connect sweetness with good taste. Neither form has anything to do with 달, the word for month or moon.
Where Will You See 사과?
사과 appears on fruit labels, juice cartons and menus. 사과 주스 names apple juice, while 사과잼 names apple jam. The words following 사과 identify the product. A picture of an apple may help, but reading the whole label tells you whether you are buying fruit, a drink or a spread.
At a fruit stall, 개 counts individual apples. A package may instead be sold by weight or by the bag. 킬로그램 means kilogram, and 봉지 means bag. A price beside a weight describes a different quantity from a price beside one apple, so check the selling unit before comparing labels.
사과 is neutral. The fruit does not acquire a special respectful name when you offer it to an older person. Politeness comes from how you phrase the offer or request. In the dialogue, 주세요 is the polite request, while the noun stays 사과.
Peeling, Cutting and Describing Apples
사과를 깎다 means to peel an apple. In this phrase 깎다 describes removing the skin, often with a knife. 사과를 자르다 means to cut an apple into pieces. The actions can happen together during preparation, but cutting does not itself say that the skin was removed.
사과 껍질 is apple peel or skin. 껍질째 means “with the skin on,” so it is useful when someone discusses how they eat the fruit. The ending 째 includes the named part rather than taking it away. These are literal food expressions, rather than idioms about someone's behavior.
A sour apple can be described with 셔요, “is sour,” and a sweet one with 달아요. 새콤달콤하다 combines a pleasantly tart taste with sweetness. You may see that description on fruit snacks as well as hear it about fresh fruit. It describes flavor; it is not the name of an apple variety.
The apology homophone creates occasional jokes, especially when someone offers an apple while apologizing. The joke works because the two nouns sound alike. It does not make giving someone fruit a normal substitute for saying sorry.
Words beside Apples on a Shopping List
| Korean | Meaning | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 배 | pear | A different fruit often sold at the same stall. |
| 과일 | fruit | Names the whole food category. |
| 껍질 | peel / skin | Useful when preparing the apple. |
| 봉지 | bag | Check it when a price is for a bag of fruit. |
The fruit vocabulary lesson teaches more names for the same shopping trip. Combine the fruit name with a quantity or packaging word to make the request specific.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 사과를 자르다 specifically mean peeling?
- What does 사과 껍질 name?
- What should you check beside a fruit price?
Show answers
- No. It means to cut an apple; 사과를 깎다 means to peel it.
- The apple peel or skin.
- The selling unit: one item, a weight or a package such as a bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 사과 the Same Word for Apple and Apology?
They are separate words that share the same Hangul and sound. The verb that follows decides which you mean.
How Do I Ask for Two Apples?
Say 사과 두 개 주세요.
How Do I Say I Eat an Apple in the Morning?
Say 저는 아침에 사과를 먹어요.
What Is the Hanja for the Fruit?
Dictionaries give 沙果 (沙 sand plus 果 fruit). The apology word uses different characters, 謝過.
Where to Go Next
For more fruit words, open the Korean fruit vocabulary list or browse Korean words A to Z. Continue with banana in Korean and compare the apple with pear in Korean.