Key Facts
- Korean: 닭고기, Revised Romanization dakgogi
- Pronunciation: [dak-kko-gi]
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean (닭 + 고기)
- Register: neutral everyday word
Chicken in Korean: What Does 닭고기 Mean?
닭고기 means chicken meat in general: breast, thigh, whole birds, soup chicken. The live animal is 닭, and the fried takeaway dish is 치킨.
How Do You Pronounce 닭고기?
닭고기 sounds like [dak-kko-gi]. Two rules work together: the double final ㄺ of 닭 is reduced to a k sound, and the ㄱ that follows becomes tense.
Example Sentences with 닭고기
닭고기를 좋아해요.
Dakgogireul joahaeyo.
I like chicken.
닭고기를 is the object, and 좋아해요 means "like".
닭고기는 건강에 좋아요.
Dakgogineun geongange joayo.
Chicken is good for your health.
건강에 좋아요 means "is good for your health". The particle 는 marks chicken as the topic being described.
저녁에 닭고기를 먹어요.
Jeonyeoge dakgogireul meogeoyo.
I eat chicken for dinner.
저녁에 means "in the evening" or "for dinner", and 먹어요 is "eat".
Common Phrases with 닭고기
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 닭고기를 굽다 | to grill chicken |
| 닭고기 수프 | chicken soup |
| 닭갈비 | dakgalbi |
닭고기 수프 is a Western-style soup. 닭갈비 is a spicy stir-fried chicken dish and shows that dish names often use the short form 닭.
A Common Mistake with 닭고기
- Wrong: using 치킨 for any chicken meat, for example in a recipe for chicken soup.
- Correct: 닭고기, as in 닭고기 수프.
치킨 usually points to a prepared chicken dish in everyday ordering. In a recipe, at the butcher or when you talk about plain cooked chicken, 닭고기 is the clear general word for the meat.
닭고기 Compared with 치킨 and 닭
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 닭고기 | chicken (meat) | Chicken meat in general |
| 치킨 | fried chicken | Usually the fried dish |
| 닭 | chicken (animal) | The bird itself |
For an order of fried chicken, 치킨 is the usual word. For chicken as an ingredient, 닭고기 is the general word; other chicken dishes also have their own names.
Checking the Meat in a Restaurant Dish
A diner wants to know what is in a dish before ordering. The server identifies the meat and the cut.
Diner
이 음식에 닭고기가 들어가요?
I eumsige dakgogiga deureogayo?
Does this dish contain chicken?
Server
네, 닭고기가 들어가요.
Ne, dakgogiga deureogayo.
Yes, it contains chicken.
Diner
어느 부위를 써요?
Eoneu buwireul sseoyo?
Which cut do you use?
Server
닭다리살을 써요.
Dakdarisareul sseoyo.
We use chicken thigh meat.
들어가요 literally means “goes in”; for an ingredient, it means “contains” or “is included”. 부위 means a part or cut of meat. The diner first identifies the animal source, then asks which part is used. 닭다리살 names meat from the leg; in this restaurant answer it refers to thigh meat.
How Do Recipes and Menus Name Chicken?
닭고기를 굽다 means grilling or roasting chicken. The meat takes 를 because it is what you cook. 닭고기를 삶다 means boiling chicken, and 닭고기를 볶다 means stir-frying it. The ingredient stays the same while the cooking verb tells you what happens to it. None of these phrases automatically means fried chicken from a delivery shop.
Dish names often begin with 닭 without adding 고기. 닭갈비 is one example already introduced above. 닭볶음탕 is a spicy chicken stew, while 삼계탕 is a soup made with a whole chicken. Knowing the ingredient word helps, but a dish name still carries its own meaning and preparation.
치킨 on an everyday delivery menu usually refers to a prepared chicken dish, especially fried chicken. On a sandwich or packaged-food label, the English-derived word can also appear in a product name. 닭고기 is the clearer general word when you are asking which meat an unfamiliar food contains.
Where Will You See 닭고기?
In a supermarket, 닭고기 can label a meat category. A more specific package name may identify a cut, so look beyond the animal name if a recipe needs breast rather than thigh. On an ingredient list, 닭고기 identifies the meat even when the product’s main name does not mention chicken.
In a restaurant conversation, the dialogue’s question about what “goes in” a dish works for identifying an ingredient. Asking about 닭고기 does not ask whether the food is spicy, boneless, or fried. Those are separate features. Naming the ingredient first lets you ask a focused follow-up instead of guessing from the picture.
닭고기 itself is neutral. You can use it with a friend, a shop worker, or a server. The polite ending in 들어가요 makes the question suitable for a routine service interaction; the meat does not have a separate respectful name.
Chicken Cuts and Other Ingredients
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 닭가슴살 | chicken breast | A specific cut, often named on packages. |
| 닭다리살 | chicken leg / thigh meat | 살 tells you the word concerns the meat. |
| 닭날개 | chicken wing | Names the wing rather than chicken meat generally. |
| 돼지고기 | pork | Another animal name combined with 고기. |
| 소고기 | beef | A useful contrast when asking what meat a dish contains. |
The ingredients vocabulary lesson teaches the wider set of cooking ingredients. 고기 is the shared “meat” element in 닭고기, 돼지고기, and 소고기. Learning them together helps when a menu offers the same dish with different meat choices.
Quick Self-Test
- Which word is the clearest general name for chicken as an ingredient?
- What does 들어가요 mean in a question about a dish’s ingredients?
- Which cut is 닭가슴살?
Show answers
- 닭고기.
- It asks whether the ingredient is included.
- Chicken breast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Say Chicken Meat in Korean?
Say 닭고기 (dakgogi), pronounced [dak-kko-gi]. It joins 닭, the bird, and 고기, meat. Use it for chicken as an ingredient in cooking, shopping and recipes. For the live bird, drop 고기 and say 닭; for fried chicken from a shop, Koreans say 치킨.
Why Is 닭고기 Pronounced [dak-kko-gi]?
The final ㄺ of 닭 is reduced to a k sound before a consonant, so only [dak] is heard. A plain consonant after that k becomes tense, so the ㄱ of 고 sounds like ㄲ. The result is [dak-kko-gi], even though the spelling stays 닭고기.
What Is the Difference between 닭고기 and 치킨?
닭고기 is chicken meat in general: boiled, grilled, in soup or raw at the market. 치킨 is the loanword Koreans use for fried chicken, usually ordered from a chicken shop or by delivery. Ask for 치킨 when you want the fried dish.
What Is 닭갈비?
닭갈비 (dakgalbi) is a spicy stir-fried chicken dish cooked on a large pan at the table, often with rice cakes, cabbage and sweet potato. Despite 갈비 meaning ribs, it is usually made with boneless thigh meat. The city of Chuncheon is famous for it.
Related Words and Next Steps
- See more food ingredients words for meat and staples.
- Find more single words like chicken meat in the Korean words A to Z index.