Key Facts
- Hangul: 치약; Revised Romanization: chiyak
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean
- Register: Neutral everyday word.
- Hanja: 齒藥 (齒 tooth + 藥 medicine)
Toothpaste in Korean: How Do You Pronounce 치약?
Two syllables: chi-yak. With the object marker, the final ㄱ moves over to the next syllable, which is why the second example romanizes it as chiyageul.
Example Sentences with 치약
치약이 떨어졌어요.
Chiyagi tteoreojyeosseoyo
We have run out of toothpaste.
A household announcement. 떨어졌어요 is the past of 떨어지다, here meaning the supply has run out.
칫솔에 치약을 짜요.
Chisore chiyageul jjayo
I squeeze toothpaste onto the toothbrush.
A morning routine. 칫솔에 names the brush as the target, and 짜요 is the squeezing verb.
이 치약은 맛이 시원해요.
I chiyageun masi siwonhaeyo
This toothpaste tastes refreshing.
A review sentence. 시원해요 means cool or refreshing, a common way to describe mint flavour.
Common Phrases and Collocations
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 치약을 짜다 | to squeeze toothpaste |
| 치약이 떨어지다 | to run out of toothpaste |
| 치약 한 통 | a tube of toothpaste |
| 미백 치약 | whitening toothpaste |
치약을 짜다 and 치약이 떨어지다 are the two verbs you need most. 치약 한 통 counts tubes, and 미백 치약 is the whitening kind.
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners mix up the two bathroom words that both start with 치.
- Wrong: 칫솔 for toothpaste
- Right: 치약 (toothpaste); 칫솔 is the toothbrush
Neither word is a verb. To say "brush your teeth", use 양치하다 or 이를 닦다.
치약 Compared with Similar Words
칫솔 is the brush itself, while 치약 goes onto it. 양치질 is the action of brushing teeth, which uses both.
| Word | Meaning | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|
| 치약 | toothpaste | This page's word |
| 칫솔 | toothbrush | The brush itself. |
| 양치질 | tooth brushing | The action of brushing teeth. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
치약 is written 齒藥: 齒 (tooth) and 藥 (medicine). The medicine character is the reason the word ends in 약.
At a Shop: Finding Toothpaste
A customer has found the bathroom aisle but cannot see the toothpaste. The exchange stays polite and names the product before asking about the price.
Customer
치약은 어디에 있어요?
Chiyageun eodie isseoyo?
Where is the toothpaste?
Assistant
칫솔 옆에 있어요.
Chitsol yeope isseoyo.
It is next to the toothbrushes.
Customer
이 치약은 얼마예요?
I chiyageun eolmayeyo?
How much is this toothpaste?
Assistant
삼천 원이에요.
Samcheon wonieyo.
It is three thousand won.
The price belongs to this practice scene. 어디에 asks for a location, while 얼마 asks for a price. 치약은 sets up toothpaste as the topic in both questions. In the second question, 이 points to a particular tube, so the assistant knows which product the customer means.
What Do the Everyday Toothpaste Phrases Mean?
치약이 떨어지다 describes running out of a household supply. 떨어지다 can literally mean “fall”, but here nobody has dropped a tube. The first example above reports that the toothpaste is used up. If the tube is lying on the floor, the surrounding conversation needs to make that physical meaning clear.
치약을 짜다 describes pressing the tube to push paste out. The toothpaste takes 을 because it is what you squeeze out; 칫솔에 tells you where it goes. This makes the second example useful beyond memorising two bathroom nouns: it connects the product, the action and the destination.
치약 한 통 refers to a container of toothpaste, normally a tube. 통 counts the packaged unit, rather than the amount on the brush. In a shopping list, 한 통 therefore means one tube. The number does not tell you its weight or size.
Where Will You See 치약?
Look for 치약 on packaging, bathroom shopping lists and store shelf labels. Product descriptions can put a type before it, as in 미백 치약, “whitening toothpaste”. 미백 names the product category. It does not change the basic meaning of 치약 or promise a particular result.
어린이 치약 means children's toothpaste. 어린이 identifies the intended users, whereas 미백 identifies a marketed purpose. Both follow the useful pattern “type + 치약”. Recognising the final noun helps you find the product even when you cannot yet read every word on the box.
At a hotel, asking whether toothpaste is available is different from saying it has run out at home. The shop dialogue's location question assumes there is some to find. The household sentence 치약이 떨어졌어요 explains why someone needs to buy more.
The noun itself has no special polite version. In the shop scene, the polite tone comes from 있어요 and 얼마예요. You can use the same noun on a shopping list, where no sentence ending is needed.
On a shared bathroom shelf, 치약 does not show who owns the tube. Possession comes from context or an added name. In the first example, the English translation uses “we” because the scene is a household supply running out; the Korean sentence itself does not state an owner.
Bathroom Words to Use with 치약
| Korean | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 칫솔 | toothbrush | The tool you put toothpaste on. |
| 양치질 | tooth brushing | The activity, rather than either bathroom item. |
| 세면대 | washbasin | The place where these items may be kept. |
| 컵 | cup | A separate item you may need when rinsing. |
The bathroom vocabulary lesson brings these objects into one set. Keep 치약 and 칫솔 separate when packing: having a brush does not mean you have the paste. 양치질 names what you do with them, so it belongs in an activity list rather than a list of products.
Quick Self-Test
- What does 치약이 떨어졌어요 mean in a conversation about shopping?
- Which phrase names a tube: 치약 한 통 or 양치질?
- In 칫솔에 치약을 짜요, which word names the destination?
Show answers
- We have run out of toothpaste; it explains the need to buy more.
- 치약 한 통 means one tube of toothpaste.
- 칫솔에 means onto the toothbrush. 치약을 is the toothpaste being squeezed out.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "toothpaste" in Korean?
Say 치약 (chiyak).
How do I say "we ran out of toothpaste"?
Say 치약이 떨어졌어요.
How do I say "squeeze toothpaste"?
Say 치약을 짜다.
Is 치약 the same as 칫솔?
No. 칫솔 is the toothbrush.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: bathroom word list. 치약 follows the brush in that list.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Compare with the toothbrush page. The brush is the object this word is applied to.