Key Facts
- Hangul: 김치; Revised Romanization: gimchi
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native
- Register: Neutral; used in all registers. The vegetable is most often napa cabbage.
Kimchi in Korean: What Does 김치 Mean?
김치 means kimchi, in a neutral register that works in every setting. The vegetable is most often napa cabbage, which gives the compound 배추김치, but there are radish, cucumber and green onion kimchis too. The word also anchors a family of related dishes, from 김치찌개 to 깍두기.
How Do You Pronounce 김치?
Romanized gimchi, though English spells the dish kimchi. Two syllables, gim-chi: the ㄱ at the start is unaspirated, softer than English k, and the m closes the lips before the aspirated ch.
Example Sentences with 김치
김치는 맵고 시원해요.
Gimchineun maepgo siwonhaeyo
Kimchi is spicy and refreshing.
Two adjectives describe the taste. 맵고 means spicy and 시원해요 means refreshing, in the Korean sense of cool and clean.
저는 매일 김치를 먹어요.
Jeoneun maeil gimchireul meogeoyo
I eat kimchi every day.
매일 is every day, and 먹어요 is eat. The sentence reports a daily habit.
어머니가 김치를 담갔어요.
Eomeoniga gimchireul damgasseoyo
My mother made kimchi.
담갔어요 is the past of 담그다, the verb for making kimchi. The sentence uses the right verb, which the mistake section explains.
Common Phrases and Collocations
Look at the verbs: 담그다 is making, and 먹다 is eating.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 김치를 담그다 | to make kimchi |
| 배추김치 | napa cabbage kimchi |
| 김치 냉장고 | kimchi refrigerator |
| 김치를 먹다 | to eat kimchi |
The Mistake to Avoid
Wrong: treating 만들다 as the normal verb for kimchi, as in 김치를 만들다.
Correct: 김치를 담그다. 김치를 만들다 is understood, but 담그다 is the natural verb for making kimchi and other fermented or pickled foods.
김치 Compared with Similar Words
Three nearby words show how wide the family is.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 김치 | kimchi | The fermented vegetable dish itself |
| 깍두기 | cubed radish kimchi | One kind of kimchi, made from cubed radish |
| 김치찌개 | kimchi stew | A cooked stew that uses kimchi as an ingredient |
| 김장 | annual kimchi-making | The late-autumn event of making a winter's supply |
Where Does the Word Come From?
김치 is a native Korean word today, with no hanja spelling. It is often traced to an older word written 沈菜 ("soaked vegetables"), but that history is debated, so treat it as a likely account rather than settled fact.
Cultural Note
Families traditionally make large amounts of kimchi together in late autumn in a custom called 김장.
Asking for More Kimchi at Lunch
A diner has finished the small side dish and asks a server for a refill. The request names the food and adds a polite request ending.
Diner
김치 좀 더 주세요.
Gimchi jom deo juseyo.
Please give me a little more kimchi.
Server
네. 많이 드릴까요?
Ne. Mani deurilkkayo?
Of course. Shall I give you a lot?
Diner
아니요. 조금만 주세요.
Aniyo. Jogeumman juseyo.
No, just a little, please.
더 means “more”, and 조금만 means “just a little”. The diner does not need to repeat 김치 in the final line because the food is already clear. 좀 helps soften the first request. The exchange asks for a refill without claiming that every restaurant offers one on the same terms.
많이 드릴까요 is the server’s offer to give more. 드리다 is the humble verb for giving to the customer. That choice belongs to the act of serving; the food name 김치 stays exactly the same.
Describing Kimchi beyond “Spicy”
김치가 익다 means kimchi ripens or ferments. Here 익다 describes the development of the kimchi, rather than cooking it over heat. 잘 익은 김치 is well-ripened kimchi. This phrase helps explain why someone chooses a particular batch for a stew.
신 김치 means sour kimchi. The sourness comes up when discussing taste and fermentation; the phrase alone does not say the food is spoiled. 매운 김치 describes spicy kimchi. Sourness and heat are different qualities, so one batch can be both sour and spicy.
백김치 is white kimchi, made without the red chilli seasoning associated with the familiar red version. Seeing 김치 on a menu therefore does not always mean a red, very spicy dish. The modifier before 김치 tells you which variety the speaker means.
Where You Will See 김치
On a restaurant table, 김치 may be one of the 반찬, the side dishes served with the meal. On a menu, a longer name such as 김치찌개 refers to a separate cooked dish. Look at the whole name before deciding whether you are ordering kimchi itself or something made with it.
In a supermarket, the ingredient word can help you identify the variety: 배추 is napa cabbage and 무 is radish. 깍두기 has its own name, so it may appear without the word 김치 even though it belongs to the kimchi family. The shape and vegetable help distinguish it from sliced cabbage kimchi.
김치볶음밥 is kimchi fried rice. 볶음밥 names the dish and 김치 names a key ingredient. This order is useful when reading other menu items too: first identify the final food word, then use the beginning to work out the variety.
김치 When Someone Takes a Photo
A photographer may say 김치 before taking a picture, much like English “cheese”. Nobody is offering food in that moment. The camera and the group posing make the meaning clear. This playful use belongs to a photo situation; it is not a greeting or a way to ask someone to smile in every setting.
Vegetables and Dishes to Recognise Next
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 배추 | napa cabbage | The vegetable in 배추김치. |
| 무 | radish | The vegetable used for 깍두기. |
| 백김치 | white kimchi | A variety without red chilli seasoning. |
| 반찬 | side dish | The role kimchi often has in a meal. |
The Korean dishes lesson connects 김치 to the meals made with it. Learning the ingredient and the dish name together makes menus easier to read than translating every syllable separately.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 김치가 익다 describe?
- Is 깍두기 outside the kimchi family?
- Why might someone say 김치 while holding a camera?
Show answers
- Kimchi ripening or fermenting.
- No. It is cubed radish kimchi.
- To prompt a smile for a photo, like “cheese” in English.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say kimchi in Korean?
Kimchi in Korean is 김치, romanized gimchi. The ㄱ at the start is softer than an English k. Without a qualifier, 김치 usually means napa cabbage kimchi, 배추김치.
What verb means to make kimchi?
Use 담그다, as in 김치를 담그다. The past tense is 담갔어요, "made (kimchi)". 김치를 만들다 is understood, but 담그다 is the verb Koreans reach for.
What is 김장?
김장 is the annual kimchi-making in late autumn, when families make enough kimchi together to last through the winter.
What is 김치 냉장고?
김치 냉장고 is a kimchi refrigerator: a separate fridge built to keep kimchi at a steady cold temperature while it ferments. Many Korean homes have one alongside their regular fridge.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Korean dish words groups 김치 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Next in the list: 김치찌개, kimchi stew.
- Compare with 김장, the annual kimchi-making.