Key Facts
- Hangul: 백화점; Revised Romanization: baekhwajeom; spoken roughly bae-kwa-jeom
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean, hanja 百貨店 (百 hundred + 貨 goods + 店 shop)
- Register: neutral, used in both spoken and written Korean
Department Store in Korean: What Does 백화점 Mean?
백화점 means department store. It is a neutral everyday word, in both speech and writing, and the major chains such as 롯데백화점 and 신세계백화점 are named with it.
How Do You Pronounce 백화점?
Spelled baekhwajeom, but spoken roughly bae-kwa-jeom. When ㄱ meets ㅎ, the two merge into the aspirated ㅋ, a regular sound rule rather than an exception. Revised Romanization does not show this merger in nouns, which is why the romanization keeps kh.
Example Sentences with 백화점
백화점에 가요.
Baekhwajeome gayo.
I go to the department store.
에 marks the destination, and 가요 is the polite present of "go".
백화점은 지하철역 옆에 있어요.
Baekhwajeomeun jihacheoryeok yeope isseoyo.
The department store is next to the subway station.
지하철역 옆에 means next to the subway station, and 있어요 says where the store is.
주말에 백화점에서 옷을 샀어요.
Jumare baekhwajeomeseo oseul sasseoyo.
I bought clothes at the department store on the weekend.
주말에 means on the weekend, 옷을 is the object (clothes), and 샀어요 is the past tense of "buy".
How the Examples Fit Together
The examples follow a typical outing: going, locating, then reporting what you bought. Notice that 백화점 appears with 에 for the destination, with 은 as the topic, and with 에서 for where an action happened. Those three particles are the pattern to copy for any place noun. The collocations show the other things people do there, from catching a sale to spending a gift certificate.
Collocations
Phrases include 백화점 세일 for department store sale, 백화점에서 쇼핑하다 for to shop there, and 백화점 상품권 for a gift certificate.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 백화점 세일 | department store sale |
| 백화점에서 쇼핑하다 | to shop at a department store |
| 백화점 상품권 | department store gift certificate |
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners read the romanization letter by letter.
Wrong: baek-hwa-jeom, with a separate k and h.
Correct: bae-kwa-jeom. The ㄱ and ㅎ merge into one aspirated k sound at the start of the second syllable.
백화점 Compared with Similar Words
A 백화점 is one upscale building run by one company. A 마트 is cheaper and sells groceries, and a 시장 is a traditional market with many separate stalls.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 백화점 | department store | This page's word |
| 마트 | supermarket / mart | 마트 sells groceries and daily goods at lower prices; 백화점 is an upscale multi-floor store for fashion and brands. |
| 시장 | traditional market | 시장 is an open or traditional market, not a single building run by one company. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
백화점 is Sino-Korean, written 百貨店: 百 hundred, 貨 goods and 店 shop, so literally a shop of a hundred goods. Major chains carry the word in their names, such as 롯데백화점 and 신세계백화점.
Finding the Food Hall
A shopper asks an information desk for directions inside a department store. The exchange uses floor vocabulary that often accompanies 백화점.
Shopper
이 백화점 식품관은 어디예요?
I baekhwajeom sikpumgwaneun eodiyeyo?
Where is this department store’s food hall?
Staff member
지하 일 층에 있어요.
Jiha il cheunge isseoyo.
It’s on basement level one.
Shopper
감사합니다. 에스컬레이터는 어디예요?
Gamsahamnida. Eseukeolleiteoneun eodiyeyo?
Thank you. Where is the escalator?
식품관 identifies the food hall, while 지하 일 층 identifies a floor below ground level. In this scene, the staff member supplies the floor first. The shopper then asks how to get there. A building directory may show the same level as B1 rather than spelling out the Korean words.
Reading Phrases during a Shopping Trip
백화점 세일 means a department store sale. 세일 signals a discount event; it does not tell you that every product or counter participates. Read the smaller product or brand information before assuming an item has the advertised reduction.
백화점 상품권 is a department store gift certificate. 상품권 represents credit to spend, rather than a label saying an item is on sale. A shopper asking about 상품권 may be asking how to pay or buying a gift for someone else, so listen for the rest of the question.
백화점에서 쇼핑하다 means “to shop at a department store”. The ending 에서 names where the shopping happens. Compare that with 백화점에 가요 in the first example: 에 gives the destination of the trip. These two phrases let you distinguish getting to the store from doing something inside it.
Where Will You See 백화점?
백화점 appears in building names, station directions, shopping guides and meeting plans. A friend may use the department store as a landmark even when neither of you plans to buy anything. The example locating it beside a subway station uses exactly that landmark function.
Inside the building, a 층별 안내 is a floor guide: 층 refers to a floor, and 별 divides the information by floor. Use it to find a department before asking for a particular item. The main store name tells you which building you are in; the guide tells you which level you need.
The noun 백화점 is neutral. Courtesy comes from the question you build around it, as in the dialogue’s 어디예요. You do not need a special respectful form of the building name when speaking to a member of staff.
Words for Finding Your Way Inside
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 식품관 | food hall | Look for this when shopping for food inside the store. |
| 매장 | shop / sales area | Identifies an individual store or selling area. |
| 지하 | basement / underground | Appears before a below-ground floor number. |
| 안내 | information / guidance | Helps you recognize an information point or guide. |
The city places lesson compares shopping destinations with other landmarks. Once you reach the department store, the smaller labels above help you continue from the building entrance to the department you need.
Quick Self-Test
- Which phrase names a gift certificate: 백화점 세일 or 백화점 상품권?
- What does 지하 tell you about a floor?
- In 백화점에서 쇼핑하다, what does 에서 mark?
Show answers
- 백화점 상품권.
- It is below ground level.
- The location where the shopping happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is 백화점 pronounced?
Roughly bae-kwa-jeom. The ㄱ at the end of 백 and the ㅎ at the start of 화 merge into an aspirated k, so there is no separate h sound. The romanization baekhwajeom follows the spelling.
How is 백화점 different from 마트?
A 마트 is a supermarket that sells groceries and daily goods at lower prices. A 백화점 is an upscale multi-floor store focused on fashion, cosmetics and brands, usually with a food hall in the basement.
How is 백화점 different from 시장?
A 시장 is a traditional or open market made up of many independent sellers. A 백화점 is a single building run by one company, with fixed prices and brand counters.
What does the hanja mean?
百貨店 means a shop of a hundred goods: 百 hundred, 貨 goods and 店 shop. "A hundred" here simply means many kinds of goods under one roof.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: the city places words page groups 백화점 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- The city list continues with museum in Korean.