Key Facts
- 소금 (sogeum) means salt, the plain seasoning.
- Part of speech: noun; origin: native.
- Register: neutral everyday word.
- Level: A1.
Salt in Korean: What Does 소금 Mean?
소금 is a native Korean noun with one sense: salt. It is a neutral everyday word that names the substance only, the white crystals you add to food. It does not describe a taste, which matters for the mistake below.
How Do You Pronounce 소금?
The Revised Romanization is sogeum: two syllables, so-geum, with a soft g between the vowels. The final ㅁ links to a following vowel, so 소금이 is so-geu-mi and 소금을 is so-geu-meul.
How Do You Use 소금 in a Sentence?
소금이 필요해요.
I need salt.
Sogeumi piryohaeyo. 필요해요 means is needed. The sentence is a simple request you can say at a table or in a shop.
소금을 조금 넣어요.
I add a little salt.
Sogeumeul jogeum neoeoyo. 조금 is a little, and 넣어요 is the verb for adding. Cooks use this line when a dish needs a pinch.
이 국은 소금이 많아요.
This soup has a lot of salt.
I gugeun sogeumi manayo. 국 is soup, and 많아요 says there is a lot. The subject marker lands on 소금, so the saltiness is named by the ingredient.
Common Word Combinations
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 소금을 넣다 | to add salt |
| 소금물 | salt water |
| 굵은 소금 | coarse salt |
| 소금 간 | salt seasoning |
소금을 넣다 is the action of adding salt. 소금물 is salt water, while 굵은 소금 is coarse salt, the kind used for pickling or grilling. 소금 간 refers to seasoning a dish with salt.
Common Mistake
Wrong: 소금이에요 to mean "it is salty".
Correct: 짜요 (or the formal 짭니다). 소금 is only the noun "salt"; the taste needs the adjective 짜요.
How Does 소금 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | Meaning | How to tell it from 소금 |
|---|---|---|
| 간장 | soy sauce | 간장 is soy sauce, a salty liquid seasoning. 소금 is the dry mineral on its own. |
| 설탕 | sugar | 설탕 is sugar, the sweet counterpart often listed beside salt. The two look alike as white crystals, so check the label. |
Tasting Soup in the Kitchen
Two people are finishing a pot of soup. One asks for the salt and the other suggests adding only a little before tasting again.
Jisu
소금 좀 주세요.
Sogeum jom juseyo.
Please pass me the salt.
Minho
여기 있어요. 국에 넣을 거예요?
Yeogi isseoyo. Guge neoeul geoyeyo?
Here you are. Are you going to put it in the soup?
Jisu
네. 조금만 넣을게요.
Ne. Jogeumman neoeulgeyo.
Yes. I will add just a little.
Minho
좋아요. 먼저 맛을 보세요.
Joayo. Meonjeo maseul boseyo.
Okay. Taste it first.
소금 좀 주세요 is a direct request for the ingredient. 좀 softens the request and can also suggest a small amount; it does not specify an exact measure. 조금만 means “just a little”, with 만 limiting the amount. The final line uses 맛을 보다, literally “see the taste”, which means to taste or try the food.
Which Salt Phrases Appear in Recipes?
소금으로 간하다 means to season with salt. 간 is the seasoning level, especially how salty a dish is; 소금 identifies what you use to adjust it. A recipe that mentions 간 is asking you to consider the dish's seasoning, rather than simply name an ingredient.
소금에 절이다 means to salt or brine something. This phrase often appears when preparing vegetables. It describes a preparation step, while 소금을 넣다 simply says to put salt in. Salting cabbage before making kimchi and adding a pinch to finished soup are different cooking actions.
소금 한 꼬집 means a pinch of salt. 한 꼬집 describes the small amount held between your fingertips. It is useful recipe language, but it is not an exact weight. If a recipe gives grams instead, follow that measurement rather than treating every mention of a pinch as a fixed quantity.
Where Will You Hear or See 소금?
On a supermarket shelf, the label 소금 identifies the ingredient. 천일염 means solar sea salt, and 맛소금 is seasoned salt. These product names help distinguish what is in a packet; two products containing salt need not be identical seasonings. Read the full name when a recipe calls for a particular kind.
At a table, 소금 names what you want passed to you. 짜요 describes the food's taste. The difference lets you ask for an ingredient without commenting on the cook's seasoning. If you say that a dish is salty, listeners understand a description of the dish, not a request for more salt.
In cooking videos, listen for the action after 소금: adding it, sprinkling it or using it to season. The noun tells you the ingredient, but the verb tells you what to do with it. 소금물, written as one word, identifies water containing dissolved salt rather than salt crystals on their own.
Ingredients and Taste Words to Learn Next
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 설탕 | sugar | A different white ingredient; check the label. |
| 간장 | soy sauce | Adds both saltiness and its own flavour. |
| 후추 | pepper | Often paired with salt in recipes. |
| 싱겁다 | to be bland; not salty enough | Describes a taste that may need more seasoning. |
| 짜다 | to be salty | Describes taste rather than the salt itself. |
The ingredient vocabulary lesson groups the cooking nouns. Keep the taste words beside them in your notes: knowing both the ingredient and the result helps you understand why a cook adds more or stops adding it.
Quick Self-Test
- How would you request salt politely at the table?
- Does 소금 한 꼬집 give an exact weight in grams?
- Which names a taste: 소금 or 짜다?
Show answers
- 소금 좀 주세요.
- No. It means a pinch held between your fingertips.
- 짜다 describes a salty taste; 소금 names the ingredient.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say 'I Need Salt' in Korean?
Say 소금이 필요해요. 필요해요 means "is needed", so the sentence literally says "salt is needed".
Does 소금 Mean Salty?
No. 소금 is the noun "salt". For the taste, use the adjective: 짜요, "it's salty".
What Is 굵은 소금?
굵은 소금 is coarse salt, with large crystals. Korean cooks use it to salt napa cabbage for kimchi and to sprinkle on grilled meat.
Is 소금 the Same as 간장?
No. 간장 is soy sauce, a salty liquid, while 소금 is plain dry salt. Both add saltiness, but recipes treat them as different seasonings.
Where to Go Next
After salt in Korean, see the Korean ingredient words list. Compare 소금 with soy sauce in Korean and sugar in Korean, then move to sesame oil in Korean or the Korean words A to Z index.