Key Facts
- Hangul: 고기; Revised Romanization: gogi
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: Neutral everyday word; without a modifier it usually means meat.
Meat in Korean: How Do You Pronounce 고기?
Two syllables, go-gi. The first ㄱ is unaspirated, like a soft k, and the second ㄱ, between vowels, is voiced as g.
Example Sentences with 고기
고기를 좋아해요.
Gogireul joahaeyo.
I like meat.
A statement of preference. 좋아해요 means "like", so the object is meat as a general food.
고기를 구워요.
Gogireul guwoyo.
I grill meat.
A cooking sentence. 구워요 is "grill", which matches the collocation 고기를 굽다.
저는 고기를 안 먹어요.
Jeoneun gogireul an meogeoyo.
I don't eat meat.
A dietary sentence. 안 before the verb negates it, so the speaker avoids meat entirely.
Common Phrases and Collocations
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 고기를 굽다 | to grill meat |
| 고기를 먹다 | to eat meat |
| 고기반찬 | meat side dish |
고기반찬 is a meat side dish, and 고기를 굽다 names the grilling that gives the word its strongest association.
The Mistake to Avoid
Wrong: assuming 고기 means beef.
Correct: 고기 is meat in general. Add the animal to be specific: 소고기 for beef, 돼지고기 for pork, and 닭 in front for chicken.
고기 Compared with Similar Words
Two compounds show how 고기 is narrowed down.
| Word | Meaning | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| 고기 | meat | Meat in general |
| 소고기 | beef | 소 (cow) + 고기 |
| 돼지고기 | pork | 돼지 (pig) + 고기 |
Where Does the Word Come From?
고기 is native Korean with no hanja form. It once covered the flesh of fish as well, which survives in 물고기, literally "water meat", the word for a living fish.
Checking the Meat at a Barbecue Restaurant
A customer points to a dish before ordering. The server names the animal, because 고기 alone would not answer the customer's question.
Customer
이 고기는 소고기예요?
I gogineun sogogiyeyo?
Is this meat beef?
Server
아니요. 돼지고기예요.
Aniyo. Dwaejigogiyeyo.
No. It is pork.
Customer
소고기도 있어요?
Sogogido isseoyo?
Do you also have beef?
Server
네. 메뉴판을 보세요.
Ne. Menyupaneul boseyo.
Yes. Please look at the menu.
이 고기 means “this meat”. In the third line, 도 adds “also” to 소고기, so the customer asks about another option. Notice 소고기예요 and 돼지고기예요: both meat names end in a vowel and take 예요. The politeness comes from the sentence ending; 고기 itself has no special polite replacement.
Which Meat Words Belong Together?
고기 often appears at the end of a compound naming the animal. 소고기 is beef, 돼지고기 is pork, 닭고기 is chicken meat, and 양고기 is lamb or mutton. These are written as single words. The animal name narrows the broad category, which is useful when a photograph does not show what a dish contains.
The animal and its meat are different vocabulary choices. 닭 can name a chicken, while 닭고기 explicitly names the meat. In a restaurant, a dish name may use the shorter animal word, but 닭고기 makes the ingredient clear when you are asking what something contains.
불고기 contains 불, “fire”, and 고기, “meat”. The name refers to a prepared dish, commonly involving marinated, thinly sliced meat, rather than any meat exposed to a flame. 돼지불고기 specifies a pork version. Read the whole name instead of assuming that every dish ending in 고기 is a raw ingredient.
What Do People Say While Cooking Meat?
고기를 굽다 is the dictionary phrase “to grill meat”; 고기를 구워요 is its polite sentence form in the example above. The changed spelling belongs to the verb 굽다, not to the noun 고기. Keep 고기를 together as the object while learning the cooking verb separately.
고기가 익다 means “the meat cooks” or “the meat becomes done”. 고기를 익히다 means “to cook the meat through”. The first describes what happens to the meat; the second describes what a cook does to it. The markers help show that difference: 가 for the meat undergoing the change, 를 for the meat being cooked.
고기반찬 literally combines “meat” and “side dish”. It means a side dish made with meat, rather than a separate serving of every kind of meat. In everyday meal talk, the compound can distinguish a meat side dish from vegetable dishes on the same table.
Where Will You See 고기?
Look for 고기 on restaurant menus, ingredient lists, supermarket labels and butcher-shop signs. 정육점 means a butcher's shop. 생고기 means raw or uncooked meat, while 구이 in a dish name points to grilled food. A menu may then name the cut or the animal more precisely.
저는 고기를 안 먹어요 states that you do not eat meat. It leaves your choices about fish, broth and other ingredients unstated. If those matter to your order, ask about them by name; the sentence is a food preference, rather than a complete ingredient list.
Ingredients to Recognize Next
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 닭고기 | chicken meat | Names the ingredient rather than the living bird. |
| 양고기 | lamb; mutton | Specifies sheep meat. |
| 생선 | fish as food | The usual food word beside meat on a menu. |
| 육수 | stock; broth | Names the liquid base; ask what it is made from. |
The ingredient vocabulary lesson helps you ask about the rest of a dish alongside 고기.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 고기 alone specify beef?
- Which names chicken meat: 닭고기 or 돼지고기?
- In 고기가 익다, is the meat undergoing the change or cooking something else?
Show answers
- No. 소고기 specifies beef.
- 닭고기. 돼지고기 is pork.
- The meat is undergoing the change: it becomes cooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "meat" in Korean?
Meat in Korean is 고기 (gogi). Without a modifier it means meat in general, and at a Korean barbecue it often refers to the grilled meat itself.
Does 고기 mean beef?
No. It means meat in general. For beef say 소고기, and for pork say 돼지고기; the animal goes in front of 고기.
How do I say "I don't eat meat"?
Say 저는 고기를 안 먹어요. 안 before the verb makes it negative, so this is a simple way to explain a meat-free diet.
Can 고기 mean fish?
Only inside compounds. 물고기, a living fish, is literally "water meat". For fish as food, Korean uses 생선.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Korean ingredient words groups 고기 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Compare meat in Korean with beef and pork.