Key Facts
- Korean: 메뉴, Revised Romanization menyu
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: loanword from English
- Register: neutral; used for restaurant menus
- Physical menu: 메뉴판
Menu in Korean: What Does 메뉴 Mean?
메뉴 means the menu in the sense of the dishes on offer. It can also mean a single item: deciding what to order is 메뉴를 정하다.
How Do You Pronounce 메뉴?
메뉴 has two syllables, [me-nyu]. The second syllable starts with n and glides into "yoo", spelled with the vowel ㅠ.
Example Sentences with 메뉴
메뉴 주세요.
Menyu juseyo.
The menu, please.
A request at the table. 주세요 means "please give me", so no other verb is needed.
메뉴가 많아요.
Menyuga manayo.
There are many items on the menu.
많아요 means "there are many", here describing a long menu.
오늘의 메뉴는 뭐예요?
Oneurui menyuneun mwoyeyo?
What is today's menu?
오늘의 means "today's", and 뭐예요 asks "what is it".
Phrases with 메뉴
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 메뉴판 | menu board / menu list |
| 메뉴를 고르다 | to choose from the menu |
| 오늘의 메뉴 | today's menu |
| 메뉴를 정하다 | to decide on a menu item |
고르다 is browsing and picking, while 정하다 is making the final decision. Friends often ask each other to decide the 메뉴 before ordering.
A Common Mistake with 메뉴
- Wrong: 메누, following the English spelling.
- Correct: 메뉴, with ㅠ for the [nyu] sound.
The English word has a y glide, and Korean writes it with ㅠ, not ㅜ. When you mean the printed card, 메뉴판 is the more precise word.
메뉴 Compared with 메뉴판 and 음식
| Word | Meaning | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| 메뉴 | menu | The choice of dishes |
| 메뉴판 | menu (physical) | The card or board you read |
| 음식 | food | Food itself, not the list |
You choose from a 메뉴, read a 메뉴판 and eat 음식.
Asking for a Menu and a Recommendation
A customer has just sat down at a restaurant. After receiving the printed menu, they ask the server to suggest a dish.
Customer
메뉴판 좀 주세요.
Menyupan jom juseyo.
Could I have the menu, please?
Server
네, 여기 있어요.
Ne, yeogi isseoyo.
Yes, here it is.
Customer
추천 메뉴가 뭐예요?
Chucheon menyuga mwoyeyo?
What dish do you recommend?
Server
비빔밥이 인기가 많아요.
Bibimbabi ingiga manayo.
The bibimbap is popular.
좀 literally means “a little”, but in 메뉴판 좀 주세요 it softens the request. 추천 메뉴 asks for a recommended dish, so the server names bibimbap rather than handing over another booklet. 메뉴 can refer to an individual choice as well as the range of food available.
What Do Menu Labels Actually Tell You?
추천 메뉴 means “recommended dishes”, often a heading on a menu board. 인기 메뉴 means “popular dishes”, while 신메뉴 means a newly introduced item. The labels give different information: a recommendation, popularity, or newness. None of them by itself says that a dish has a reduced price.
세트 메뉴 is a set or combination of items sold together. 단품 means an individual item ordered separately. When a picture shows a main dish beside a drink, check whether it is under 세트 메뉴 before assuming the drink is included. The label explains how the restaurant groups the order.
메뉴를 고르다 means choosing what to have. 메뉴를 추천하다 means recommending a choice to someone else. In a conversation about dinner at home, 메뉴 can also mean what the group will cook or eat; a physical restaurant menu is not required. A friend asking about tonight's 메뉴 is asking about the meal plan.
Where Else Will You See 메뉴?
메뉴 also appears in software and phone instructions. A 설정 메뉴 is a settings menu, and 메뉴 선택 means menu selection. The shared idea is a set of choices. In a restaurant the choices are dishes; on a screen they are commands or options.
On a restaurant ordering screen, 메뉴 may appear beside 주문, “order”. Selecting an item and submitting the order are separate steps, so read the button label as well as the dish name. 메뉴 identifies what you can choose; 주문 identifies the act or record of ordering.
Words beside 메뉴 on a Restaurant Screen
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 주문 | order; ordering | Names the step after choosing your food. |
| 가격 | price | Look here to find the listed cost. |
| 추가 | addition; extra | Often marks an optional extra for the dish. |
| 품절 | sold out | The item is unavailable even if its name remains visible. |
The restaurant vocabulary lesson teaches the words you need after finding the menu, including ordering and paying.
Quick Self-Test
- Which is more specific for the booklet: 메뉴 or 메뉴판?
- Does 신메뉴 mean a discounted dish or a new item?
- What kind of choices would you find in a 설정 메뉴?
Show answers
- 메뉴판 names the physical menu.
- A new item. The word does not promise a discount.
- Settings on a device or in an application.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Say Menu in Korean?
Say 메뉴 (menyu), a loanword from English "menu". It refers to the dishes a restaurant offers. The physical card or board you read is often called 메뉴판. To ask for it, 메뉴 주세요 and 메뉴판 주세요 both work at a table.
What Is 메뉴판?
메뉴판 is the physical menu: the printed card, booklet or wall board that lists the dishes. 판 means a board or flat surface. Koreans often use 메뉴판 when they mean the object you hold, and 메뉴 when they mean the choice of dishes.
How Do I Ask What Today's Special Is?
Ask 오늘의 메뉴는 뭐예요?, "What is today's menu?". 오늘의 메뉴 is the dish of the day, common at lunch restaurants and cafeterias. The answer is usually a single set meal, so this question is a quick way to order without reading the whole list.
Is 메뉴 the Same as 음식?
No. 음식 is food itself, the thing you eat. 메뉴 is the list or choice of dishes. You read and choose from a 메뉴; you eat 음식. Saying the food was good uses 음식, as in praising the meal after you finish.
Related Words and Next Steps
- Continue with the restaurant word list.
- Find more single words like menu in the Korean words A to Z index.