Key Facts
- Korean: 달걀, Revised Romanization dalgyal
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: neutral; interchangeable with 계란
- Counter: 개, as in 달걀 세 개
Chicken Egg in Korean: What Does 달걀 Mean?
달걀 means a chicken egg, the kind you buy and cook. For eggs of other animals, or for roe, Korean uses the general word 알.
How Do You Pronounce 달걀?
달걀 has two syllables, 달 and 걀. The second syllable starts with a soft g, glides through a y sound and ends in a light l. Before a vowel particle the final ㄹ links over: 달걀을 sounds like [달갸를].
Example Sentences with 달걀
달걀을 먹어요.
Dalgyareul meogeoyo.
I eat eggs.
달걀을 is the object of 먹어요, "eat". Korean does not mark plural here, so the sentence covers one egg or several.
달걀 세 개 주세요.
Dalgyal se gae juseyo.
Three eggs, please.
A shopping request: the noun comes first, then the number 세 (three) and the counter 개.
아침에 달걀을 삶아요.
Achime dalgyareul salmayo.
I boil eggs in the morning.
A morning routine. 삶아요 is the polite form of 삶다, the verb for boiling food in water.
Common Phrases with 달걀
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 달걀을 삶다 | to boil an egg |
| 달걀 프라이 | fried egg |
| 달걀말이 | rolled omelet |
| 달걀 한 판 | a tray of eggs |
달걀말이 is the thin rolled omelet served as a side dish, and 한 판 is the flat tray eggs are sold in.
A Common Mistake with 달걀
- Wrong: 달걀 세 마리
- Correct: 달걀 세 개
마리 is the counter for animals, so it cannot count eggs. Eggs are objects and take the general counter 개.
달걀 Compared with 계란 and 알
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 달걀 | egg (chicken egg) | Native word |
| 계란 | egg | Sino-Korean synonym; equally common |
| 알 | egg | General word for any egg or roe |
Choose freely between 달걀 and 계란 for chicken eggs. Use 알 when the egg is not a hen's, or when you mean the roe of fish.
Cooking Breakfast Together
Mina
달걀 몇 개 넣어요?
Dalgyal myeot gae neoeoyo?
How many eggs do we put in?
Jisu
두 개 넣어요.
Du gae neoeoyo.
We put in two.
Mina
달걀을 먼저 풀어요?
Dalgyareul meonjeo pureoyo?
Do we beat the eggs first?
Jisu
네. 잘 섞어 주세요.
Ne. Jal seokkeo juseyo.
Yes. Please mix them well.
The speakers are following a recipe, so 넣어요 means putting an ingredient into the mixture. 몇 개 asks how many individual eggs are needed. The reply can leave out 달걀 because the ingredient is already clear. 두 is the form of “two” used before the counter 개.
풀어요 here means beating the eggs so the yolks and whites mix. It does not mean peeling the shells off. 먼저 asks about the order of the cooking steps: should this happen first? These lines use polite 요 endings, which work when cooking with a classmate or someone you do not know closely.
What Do Egg Words Mean in Recipes?
달걀을 깨다 means to crack an egg. 달걀을 풀다 means to beat it, and 달걀을 삶다 means to boil it. The noun stays the same while the verb tells you which step to perform. A recipe that asks you to beat an egg is describing preparation, rather than naming a finished dish.
For boiled eggs, 반숙 means soft-boiled or partly cooked, while 완숙 means fully cooked or hard-boiled. These words describe how set the egg is. They are useful on egg packages and in descriptions of toppings, where “boiled egg” alone leaves the texture unclear.
달걀말이 literally joins “egg” with “rolling”. It names a rolled omelet, usually sliced into pieces. The word tells you the dish's shape and preparation. 달걀 프라이 names a fried egg instead; substituting one dish name for the other changes what you are ordering, even though both begin with the same ingredient.
Where Will You See 달걀 and 계란?
Supermarket labels, home recipes and restaurant menus use both 달걀 and 계란. A menu may use 계란말이 while a recipe uses 달걀말이 for the same dish. This change does not signal a different ingredient, a more respectful expression or a special cooking method.
On a shopping list, 달걀 by itself names the ingredient without telling you the quantity. In a request, add an amount. 달걀 한 판 asks for a tray, while 달걀 한 개 asks for one egg. Check the package's stated quantity when buying a tray; the container word 판 describes the unit of sale.
Which Parts of an Egg Do You Need to Name?
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 노른자 | yolk | The yellow part; recipes may ask you to separate it. |
| 흰자 | egg white | The white part, used separately in some recipes. |
| 껍데기 | shell | The outside you remove before eating. |
| 삶은 달걀 | boiled egg | Names the cooked food rather than the boiling action. |
The ingredients vocabulary lesson places eggs alongside other foods used in cooking. Learning the parts is especially useful when a recipe asks for only the white or only the yolk: the number of eggs alone no longer tells you what goes into the bowl.
Quick Self-Test
- Which counter counts three individual eggs: 개 or 마리?
- What is the difference between 달걀을 깨다 and 달걀을 풀다?
- Does 계란말이 use a different ingredient from 달걀말이?
Show answers
- 개: 달걀 세 개.
- 깨다 means to crack the egg; 풀다 means to beat it.
- No. Both names refer to a rolled omelet.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Say Egg in Korean?
Say 달걀 (dalgyal) or 계란 (gyeran). Both mean a chicken egg and both are standard. 달걀 is the native Korean word, and 계란 is the Sino-Korean one; you will hear and see both in shops, recipes and restaurants every day.
Is 달걀 or 계란 More Correct?
Both are correct and equally natural. 달걀 is the native word and 계란 the Sino-Korean word, and most speakers switch between them freely. For example, the rolled omelet side dish is called 달걀말이, and you will also hear it named with 계란.
How Do You Say Fried Egg in Korean?
A fried egg is 달걀 프라이, from the English word "fry". You can also hear 계란 프라이 with the same meaning. For a boiled egg, use the verb 삶다: 달걀을 삶다 means "to boil an egg".
How Do You Count Eggs in Korean?
Eggs take the general counter 개 with native Korean numbers: 달걀 한 개 is one egg and 달걀 세 개 is three. A tray of thirty eggs, the usual supermarket pack, is 달걀 한 판. Do not use 마리, which counts living animals.
Related Words and Next Steps
- Browse the ingredients list for more kitchen words.
- Find more single words like chicken egg in the Korean words A to Z index.
- Next entry: beef.
- Review chicken egg (달걀) with the vocabulary flashcard decks.