Key Facts
- Hangul: 떡; Revised Romanization: tteok
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: Neutral everyday word.
Rice Cake in Korean: What Does 떡 Mean?
떡 means rice cake, a chewy product made from rice flour or pounded rice. It is a native Korean word and neutral. The key point is that it is not Western cake: it is steamed or pounded rather than baked, and the texture is chewy rather than spongy.
How Do You Pronounce 떡?
One syllable. The double ㄸ is a tense t with no puff of air, and the final ㄱ is a short stop, so you stop the sound without releasing it. The romanization is tteok.
Example Sentences with 떡
떡을 먹어요.
Tteogeul meogeoyo.
I eat rice cake.
The basic verb pair for eating. 을 marks 떡 as the object, and the noun becomes 떡을 after the final consonant.
이 떡은 달아요.
I tteogeun darayo.
This rice cake is sweet.
달아요 means sweet. 이 떡은 points at one specific rice cake, a nice sentence for a market stall.
명절에 떡을 만들어요.
Myeongjeore tteogeul mandeureoyo.
We make rice cake on holidays.
명절 means a traditional holiday, and 만들어요 means make. The sentence ties 떡 to festivals.
Common Phrases and Collocations
떡 forms soups, shops and a named festival food.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 떡을 먹다 | to eat rice cake |
| 떡국 | rice cake soup |
| 송편 | songpyeon |
| 떡집 | rice cake shop |
The Mistake to Avoid
Wrong: 떡 for a birthday cake or any Western cake.
Correct: 케이크 for Western cake; 떡 is the chewy rice product. In English, call 떡 "rice cake", never just "cake".
떡 Compared with Similar Words
Two similar-looking foods are not 떡.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 떡 | rice cake | This page's word |
| 빵 | bread | Bread is made from wheat flour and baked; 떡 is made from rice flour and usually steamed or pounded. |
| 케이크 | cake | Western cake; do not translate 떡 as cake. |
Background on 떡
Tteok is eaten at holidays and celebrations. 떡국, rice cake soup, is traditionally eaten at the Lunar New Year, and 송편 is the half-moon rice cake of Chuseok.
At a Rice Cake Shop: Choosing a Snack
A customer points to a tray of rice cakes and asks about their taste before buying. The shopkeeper identifies the variety.
Customer
이 떡은 무슨 떡이에요?
I tteogeun museun tteogiyeyo?
What kind of rice cake is this?
Shopkeeper
송편이에요.
Songpyeonieyo.
It’s songpyeon.
Customer
많이 달아요?
Mani darayo?
Is it very sweet?
Shopkeeper
아니요, 많이 달지 않아요.
Aniyo, mani dalji anayo.
No, it isn’t very sweet.
무슨 떡 asks which kind of rice cake it is. The second question asks about sweetness, which the broad word 떡 does not tell you. A filling can change the taste, so identifying the variety is more useful than assuming every rice cake is a sweet dessert.
What Does 떡 Tell You about a Food?
떡 is a food category, not one fixed shape or flavour. Some varieties are plain and used as an ingredient; others have sweet fillings or coatings and are eaten as snacks. On a shop tray, the shape and the variety name give more information than the English label “rice cake” alone.
가래떡 is a long cylindrical rice cake. It can be sliced into the pieces used for 떡국. 인절미 is a chewy rice cake commonly coated in roasted soybean powder. These two names help you distinguish a plain cooking ingredient from a snack with a coating.
떡볶이 names a complete dish made by cooking rice cakes with sauce. The familiar street-food version has a red, spicy sauce. 떡 is the ingredient within it; ordering 떡 alone does not automatically mean ordering 떡볶이. Likewise, 떡국 names a soup containing rice cakes rather than a variety sold as a sweet snack.
Useful Phrases beyond a Translation
떡을 만들다 means “make rice cakes”. 떡을 먹다 means “eat rice cakes”. These are literal combinations, and the noun does not need a plural ending just because several pieces are involved. English often needs “rice cakes” where Korean simply uses 떡.
떡 한 개 means “one rice cake” or “one piece of rice cake”, with 개 counting the individual item. A shop may sell a pack rather than separate pieces, so point to the size or pack you want. The word 떡 by itself gives neither a count nor a package size.
떡집 means a rice cake shop. The 집 in this compound names a business associated with the food, so the sign is not announcing someone's private house. You can use the same noun when explaining where you bought a box of rice cakes for a visit or celebration.
Words for Choosing the Right Variety
| Korean | Meaning | What it helps you identify |
|---|---|---|
| 가래떡 | cylindrical rice cake | A plain rice cake that can be sliced for soup. |
| 인절미 | injeolmi rice cake | A chewy variety often coated in soybean powder. |
| 떡국 | rice cake soup | A whole dish, rather than a sweet cake. |
| 송편 | songpyeon | A filled half-moon rice cake linked with Chuseok. |
| 떡볶이 | tteokbokki | A cooked rice cake dish, commonly spicy. |
The dessert and rice cake lesson teaches the wider set. At a market, use the variety name when you know it and 무슨 떡 when you do not. That question opens a useful conversation about the actual food in front of you.
Quick Self-Test
- Which question asks what variety a rice cake is?
- Does 떡 alone always mean 떡볶이?
- What does 개 count in 떡 한 개?
Show answers
- 무슨 떡이에요? asks what kind of rice cake it is.
- No. 떡볶이 is a particular dish made with rice cakes.
- An individual rice cake or piece, rather than a whole unspecified pack.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say rice cake in Korean?
Rice cake in Korean is 떡 (tteok). It covers many chewy foods made from rice flour or pounded rice, from holiday cakes to the slices in rice cake soup.
What is 송편?
송편 is songpyeon, a half-moon rice cake filled with sweet sesame, beans or chestnuts and steamed on pine needles. Families make it for Chuseok.
What is 떡집?
떡집 is a rice cake shop. 집 here means shop, so the name simply says "rice cake place".
Is 떡 the same as 케이크?
No. 케이크 is Western cake, baked and spongy, while 떡 is a chewy rice product that is steamed or pounded. A birthday cake is 케이크.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: Korean dessert and rice cake words groups 떡 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z lists every single-word page.
- Practice: add rice cake in Korean to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Next in the list: dessert.
- Compare with bread, the baked wheat food.