Key Facts
- Hangul: 저녁; Revised Romanization: jeonyeok
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: Neutral; 저녁 alone is casual, and 저녁 식사 is more formal.
Dinner in Korean: What Does 저녁 Mean?
저녁 means both dinner and evening. On its own it is the everyday word for dinner; 저녁 식사 is the more formal phrase.
How Do You Pronounce 저녁?
Two syllables, jeo and nyeok. The final ㄱ is unreleased.
Example Sentences with 저녁
저녁 먹었어요?
jeonyeok meogeosseoyo?
Did you eat dinner?
Often a friendly greeting as much as a real question. 먹었어요 is the past of 먹다, "eat".
저녁에 뭐 해요?
jeonyeoge mwo haeyo?
What do you do in the evening?
A question about evening plans. 저녁에 is "in the evening", with 에 marking the time.
오늘 저녁에 친구를 만나요.
oneul jeonyeoge chingureul mannayo.
I am meeting a friend this evening.
오늘 저녁에 means "this evening". 친구를 is the friend as the object, and 만나요 means meet.
How the Examples Fit Together
The examples show why one word can cover both meal and time of day. In the first, 저녁 is the meal being eaten, and the question is a common way to ask whether someone has eaten. In the second and third, 저녁에 pins down a time, in the evening. Context and the marker 에 tell you which sense is meant, so you rarely need extra words to separate them. The collocations show the formal side too: 저녁 식사 is the phrase to prefer in a polite or written setting, while 저녁밥, literally "evening rice", is a homely word for dinner, since 밥 also means a meal.
Collocations
Phrases include 저녁을 먹다 for to eat dinner, 저녁 식사 for the more formal dinner, 저녁에 for in the evening, and 저녁밥 for dinner.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 저녁을 먹다 | to eat dinner |
| 저녁 식사 | dinner (formal) |
| 저녁에 | in the evening |
| 저녁밥 | dinner (rice) |
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners know 저녁 as "evening" and miss the meal.
- Wrong: reading 저녁 먹었어요? as a question about the evening
- Right: 저녁 먹었어요? means "Did you eat dinner?"
저녁 means both evening and dinner. For the late, dark hours, use 밤 (night).
저녁 Compared with Similar Words
저녁 sits between two neighbours: 점심 before it and 밤 after it.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 저녁 | dinner | This page's word |
| 밤 | night | The late dark hours, after 저녁. |
| 점심 | lunch | The midday meal. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
저녁 is native Korean.
Making Dinner Plans with a Coworker
Two coworkers are deciding whether to eat together after work. Both use polite everyday endings, even though the short word 저녁 keeps the conversation relaxed.
Mina:
오늘 저녁에 시간 있어요?
Oneul jeonyeoge sigan isseoyo?
Are you free this evening?
Jun:
네, 왜요?
Ne, waeyo?
Yes. Why?
Mina:
같이 저녁 먹을까요?
Gachi jeonyeok meogeulkkayo?
Shall we have dinner together?
Jun:
좋아요. 일곱 시에 만나요.
Joayo. Ilgop sie mannayo.
Sounds good. Let’s meet at seven.
The first 저녁 is a time of day because 에 follows it. In the invitation, 저녁 is the meal and 먹을까요 proposes eating together. Everyday conversation often leaves out the object marker 을 here. The last line supplies an exact meeting time; 저녁 by itself would leave that open.
Is Someone Asking about Food or Evening Plans?
저녁 먹었어요 asks about the meal. 저녁에 뭐 해요 asks about activities during the evening. The verb and the time marker do more work than the English translation of 저녁 alone. You can meet someone in the evening without having dinner with them, so an evening arrangement is not automatically a meal invitation.
오늘 저녁 means “this evening” or “tonight,” depending on the English sentence. 내일 저녁 means “tomorrow evening.” These phrases locate an event but do not give a clock time. For a reservation or meeting, add the hour rather than assuming everyone shares the same idea of when dinner starts.
Meal Phrases You Will Hear at Home and at Work
저녁 준비 means “dinner preparation.” It can cover cooking, setting things out, or getting the meal ready. 저녁 약속 means an evening engagement; in a conversation about eating, it often means dinner plans. 약속 here is an arrangement with someone, rather than a promise to eat.
저녁밥 literally combines evening and rice, but 밥 can mean the whole meal. The phrase does not promise a specific rice dish. 저녁 식사 makes the meal meaning explicit and suits invitations, schedules, and restaurant information. You can still use plain 저녁 in a polite sentence to a coworker; the noun itself does not force casual speech.
On a restaurant menu or reservation page, 저녁 identifies evening service. In a drama, a question about having eaten can show concern, but it can also be a practical question before ordering food. The reply and the scene tell you how much social meaning to attach to it.
The Meals and Times around 저녁
| Korean | Meaning | How it connects to dinner |
|---|---|---|
| 아침 | morning; breakfast | Also names both a time of day and a meal. |
| 점심 | lunch | Names the midday meal. |
| 밤 | night | Refers to nighttime rather than the dinner itself. |
| 야식 | late-night food | Food eaten late, often after the usual evening meal. |
The daily routines vocabulary lesson puts meals into a day's activities. 야식 is especially useful when someone has already had 저녁 but later orders more food. It describes the late eating occasion, while 저녁 remains the ordinary evening meal.
Quick Self-Test
- Which phrase clearly means “in the evening”: 저녁에 or 저녁을?
- Does 저녁밥 name only a bowl of rice?
- What does 같이 저녁 먹을까요 propose?
Show answers
- 저녁에 marks the time. 저녁을 marks the meal as an object.
- No. 밥 can mean the whole meal.
- Having dinner together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 저녁 mean evening?
Yes. It means both evening and dinner.
What is the more formal word for dinner?
저녁 식사.
What is the word for night?
밤.
What is lunch?
점심.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: the daily routines words page groups 저녁 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Compare with the page for night, which starts where the evening ends, and the page for lunch, the midday meal that comes before it.