Key Facts
- Korean: 닭, Revised Romanization dak
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: neutral everyday word
- Before a vowel: 닭이 is pronounced [dal-gi]
Chicken (animal) in Korean: What Does 닭 Mean?
닭 means the chicken as an animal, including hens and roosters. The meat is 닭고기.
How Do You Pronounce 닭?
닭 alone is [dak]: of the two final consonants ㄺ, only the k sound is heard. Before a vowel both appear, so 닭이 is [dal-gi].
Example Sentences with 닭
닭이 울어요.
Dalgi ureoyo.
The rooster crows.
울어요 means "cries" and is the verb for a rooster crowing. Note the pronunciation [dal-gi].
농장에 닭이 있어요.
Nongjange dalgi isseoyo.
There are chickens on the farm.
농장에 means "on the farm", and 있어요 means "there are".
닭은 알을 낳아요.
Dalgeun areul naayo.
Hens lay eggs.
알을 낳아요 means "lay eggs". The ㅎ in 낳아요 is silent.
Phrases with 닭
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 닭을 키우다 | to raise chickens |
| 닭고기 | chicken meat |
| 닭장 | chicken coop |
닭장 places the animal in a farm setting, while 닭고기 refers to chicken meat.
A Common Mistake with 닭
- Wrong: [dalk], pronouncing both ㄹ and ㄱ on their own.
- Correct: [dak] alone; [dal-gi] in 닭이.
The ㄹ only surfaces when a vowel follows, as with the particles 이, 을 and 은.
닭 Compared with 닭고기 and 치킨
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 닭 | chicken (animal) | The live bird |
| 닭고기 | chicken meat | The meat |
| 치킨 | fried chicken | Fried chicken dishes |
Watching Chickens at a Farm
A visitor and a farm guide are standing beside a chicken coop. The visitor asks about the birds and their young.
Visitor
여기서 닭을 키우세요?
Yeogiseo dalgeul kiuseyo?
Do you raise chickens here?
Guide
네, 저 닭장에 있어요.
Ne, jeo dakjange isseoyo.
Yes, they’re in that coop.
Visitor
병아리도 있어요?
Byeongarido isseoyo?
Are there chicks too?
Guide
네, 안에 있어요.
Ne, ane isseoyo.
Yes, they’re inside.
닭을 is the object of 키우세요, “raise”. The vowel in 을 lets both final consonants of 닭 be heard, which is why the romanization is dalgeul. 닭장 names the coop, and 저 points to the one over there. The guide can omit the animal name in the final answer because the visitor has just asked about chicks.
Does 닭 Tell You Whether It Is a Hen or Rooster?
닭 is the general animal word. 암탉 specifies a hen and 수탉 specifies a rooster. The first example translates 닭 as “rooster” because crowing makes that interpretation natural in the scene. The noun 닭 by itself does not mean only a male bird.
병아리 is a chick. A children’s picture book may use 닭 for an adult chicken and 병아리 for its young. That distinction gives you more information than translating every bird in the scene simply as “chicken”. For eggs, 알 is the broader animal word, while 달걀 specifically means a chicken’s egg.
What Do the Common Chicken Phrases Describe?
닭을 키우다 means raising or keeping chickens. The same verb 키우다 can describe keeping a pet, but the farm setting makes livestock the natural reading here. The phrase itself does not tell you whether the birds are kept for eggs, meat, or another purpose.
닭이 울다 describes a chicken making its call. 울다 can mean crying for a person, but with a rooster English usually translates it as “crow”. A literal word-for-word translation as “the chicken cries” may hide the ordinary farm sound intended by the sentence.
알을 낳다 means laying eggs. 낳다 is also used for giving birth, but the object 알 makes egg-laying clear. The existing sentence describes hens in general. It does not imply that every individual chicken, including a rooster, can lay eggs.
Where Will You Meet 닭 outside a Farm?
Children’s stories and animal lessons use 닭 alongside other farm animals. Farm signs may use 닭장 to identify the enclosure. The final 장 refers to a cage or pen in this word, so recognizing the compound helps you find the birds rather than looking for a food stall.
On menus, 닭 also appears in dish names such as 닭갈비. In that setting it refers to chicken prepared as food. The animal-versus-meat distinction is useful for choosing your own words, but it is not a rule that every occurrence of 닭 refers to a live bird. Read the surrounding noun and the setting.
When a story writes 꼬끼오, it is representing a rooster’s crow. That is a sound word, while 닭 names the animal. English uses “cock-a-doodle-doo” for the same kind of imitation; the Korean spelling follows a different sound convention.
Farm Words beside 닭
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 암탉 | hen | Specifies a female chicken. |
| 수탉 | rooster | Specifies a male chicken. |
| 병아리 | chick | Names the young bird. |
| 달걀 | chicken egg | More specific than the general word 알. |
| 농장 | farm | The setting in the second example. |
The animal vocabulary lesson gives you other animal names. Combine a precise noun with the action: a rooster crowing, a hen laying eggs, or chicks inside a coop. That supplies the distinctions English often puts into separate animal words.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 닭 alone specify a rooster?
- Why does the romanization of 닭을 include an l?
- What is the Korean word for a chick?
Show answers
- No. Use 수탉 to specify a rooster and 암탉 for a hen.
- The vowel particle 을 allows both consonants in ㄺ to be heard: dalgeul.
- 병아리.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Say Chicken (the animal) in Korean?
Say 닭 (dak). It is the native word for the live bird, hen or rooster. For chicken as meat, add 고기, meat, to get 닭고기. For fried chicken from a shop, Koreans use the loanword 치킨. All three are common, so match the word to the situation.
Why Does 닭이 Sound Like [dal-gi]?
닭 ends in the double consonant ㄺ. On its own or before a consonant, only the k sound is pronounced: [dak]. Before a vowel, as in the particle 이, both consonants are heard: the ㄹ stays in the first syllable and the ㄱ moves to the next, giving [dal-gi].
How Do You Distinguish Chicken Meat from the Animal?
닭 names the animal, while 닭고기 names chicken meat. 닭장 means chicken coop and helps place the animal in a farm setting. Learn these words together so that a menu, a farm story and a description of a pen each suggest the right meaning.
How Do You Say Chicken Coop in Korean?
A chicken coop is 닭장, from 닭 and 장, a cage or pen. Farms and some rural homes keep chickens in a 닭장, and the word appears in farm stories for children. 닭장 is also used figuratively for a cramped space, much as English speakers might call a small room a "box".
Related Words and Next Steps
- See more animal words.
- Find more single words like chicken (the animal) in the Korean words A to Z index.