Key Facts
- 감기 (gamgi) means cold, the illness.
- Part of speech: noun; origin: Sino-Korean, 感氣.
- Register: neutral, used in all registers.
- Level: A1.
Cold in Korean: What Does 감기 Mean?
감기 means a cold, the common cold, and nothing else. The hanja 感氣 joins 感 (feel) with 氣 (energy or air). Related words split the English word "cold": 추위 is cold weather, 차갑다 is cold to the touch, and 독감 is influenza, stronger than a common cold.
How Do You Pronounce 감기?
The Revised Romanization is gamgi: two syllables, gam-gi. Close the first syllable with your lips for the m, then open into a soft, voiced g. There is no sound change, so it is said as written.
How Do You Use 감기 in a Sentence?
감기에 걸렸어요.
I caught a cold.
Gamgie geollyeosseoyo 에 follows 감기 because the verb 걸리다 takes it. 걸렸어요 is the past tense, so this reports you now have a cold.
저는 감기가 아직 안 나았어요.
My cold has not gotten better yet.
Jeoneun gamgiga ajik an naasseoyo 아직 안 나았어요 means not yet healed, with 아직 meaning yet and 안 negating. The topic 저는 makes it personal.
감기 조심하세요.
Take care not to catch a cold.
Gamgi josimhaseyo 조심하세요 is a polite "be careful". It is a common friendly send-off in the cold months, said to anyone you part from.
Which Word Combinations Are Common with 감기?
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 감기에 걸리다 | to catch a cold |
| 감기약 | cold medicine |
| 감기가 낫다 | for a cold to get better |
| 독감 | influenza / flu |
The set phrases are 감기에 걸리다 for catching it and 감기가 낫다 for recovering. 감기약 is cold medicine, built by attaching 약 to the illness. 독감 is the flu, the stronger illness.
What Is the Common Mistake with 감기?
English "catch a cold" makes learners use the object marker.
Wrong: 감기를 걸렸어요.
Correct: 감기에 걸렸어요. The verb 걸리다 takes 에, not the object marker 를.
How Does 감기 Differ from Similar Words?
English "cold" maps onto three Korean words, and the flu has its own.
| Word | Meaning | How to tell it from 감기 |
|---|---|---|
| 추위 | cold (weather) | About temperature outdoors, not about being ill. |
| 차갑다 | to be cold to the touch | Describes objects and drinks, not sickness. |
| 독감 | influenza; flu | Stronger than a common cold. |
At the Pharmacy: Describing a Cold
A customer asks a pharmacist for help. The pharmacist asks about a symptom, and the customer describes it rather than naming a different illness.
Customer
감기약 있어요?
Gamgiyak isseoyo?
Do you have cold medicine?
Pharmacist
기침도 나요?
Gichimdo nayo?
Do you have a cough too?
Customer
네. 콧물도 나요.
Ne. Konmuldo nayo.
Yes. I have a runny nose too.
Pharmacist
언제부터 그랬어요?
Eonjebuteo geuraesseoyo?
When did that start?
The 도 in 기침도 and 콧물도 means “also” or “too”. Korean describes these symptoms with 나다, literally “to come out” or “arise”. English instead says “have a cough” or “have a runny nose”. The last question asks when the symptoms began; 부터 marks the starting point.
감기약 있어요 is a short, polite request at a pharmacy. The noun 감기 itself has no special polite version. The customer can use the same word with a friend, a pharmacist or a doctor, while changing the sentence ending to suit the listener.
Phrases for Catching a Cold and Recovering
감기 기운 means signs of a cold or the feeling that a cold may be starting. 기운 can mean energy or a sign of something; here it points to early symptoms. The phrase describes how someone feels, without claiming a confirmed diagnosis. It is useful when the speaker feels unwell but is still unsure why.
감기가 심하다 means “to have a bad cold”. 심하다 describes severity, so the phrase concerns how bad the illness feels. 감기가 낫다 moves to recovery instead. Watch the spelling in the existing example: 나았어요 means “got better”, while 낫다 is the dictionary form.
감기 조심하세요 works as a caring farewell, especially when the weather changes. Its literal structure is “be careful of colds”, but natural English is “take care not to catch a cold”. The speaker may be leaving a coworker or ending a phone call with a relative. It does not imply that the listener is already ill.
Where Will You Hear 감기?
감기 comes up in messages explaining an absence from class or work, in pharmacy conversations and in family talk. A person saying 감기에 걸렸어요 may be explaining why they cannot meet. Although 걸렸어요 is past tense, the speaker can still be ill now: the catching happened earlier, and the cold continues.
On packaging or a pharmacy shelf, 감기약 names a category of medicine. In conversation, adding specific symptoms gives the listener more information than the broad word 감기 alone. The words below help you understand follow-up questions; they are vocabulary, rather than a way to identify the cause of an illness.
| Related word | Meaning | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| 기침 | cough | 기침이 나다 describes coughing. |
| 콧물 | nasal discharge / runny nose | 콧물이 나다 describes a running nose. |
| 열 | fever / heat | In a health conversation, 열이 나다 means having a fever. |
| 목 | throat / neck | In a symptom description, 목 often refers to the throat. |
| 약국 | pharmacy | The place to ask about medicine. |
The health and medicine vocabulary lesson groups these words with places and people you may need when you are unwell.
Quick Self-Test
- Which marker belongs in 감기__ 걸렸어요?
- Does 감기 기운 describe cold weather or possible early symptoms?
- Does 감기 조심하세요 mean the listener is already sick?
Show answers
- 에: 감기에 걸렸어요.
- Possible early symptoms of a cold.
- No. It is a caring reminder to avoid catching a cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say I Caught a Cold?
Say 감기에 걸렸어요.
What Is Cold Medicine Called?
It is 감기약, 감기 plus 약 (medicine).
How Do I Tell Someone to Avoid Catching a Cold?
Say 감기 조심하세요.
Is 감기 the Same as the Flu?
No. 독감 is the flu, stronger than a common cold.
Where to Go Next
This word belongs to the health and medicine vocabulary list. The hospital word comes next there, at hospital in Korean. The complete index is Korean words A to Z.