Lesson 22
This lesson offers you a break from Korean grammar and allows you to focus more on vocabulary to help you learn and understand some common and basic building blocks of Korean words. With the Word Builder lessons, many (not all) of the words and/or roots are based on Chinese characters (한자), but the meanings can differ from modern-day Chinese. You do not have to memorize all the vocabulary in this lesson as they serve to assist your understanding on how the roots help give words their meaning.
The key word element of this lesson is 식.
The Chinese character for this is 食.
식 is related to “food” and “to eat”.
Sample Expressions
식 (eat) + 사 (work, job) = 식사 食事 = meal
Ex)
식사하셨어요?
= Have you eaten? / Have you had a meal? (common Korean greeting)
식 (eat) + 당 (house) = 식당 食堂 = restaurant
* The Koreanized English word 레스토랑 is also used, but if an eating establishment is called 레스토랑, everything is higher in price, and it feels fancier than a 식당.
식 (eat) + 품 (thing, item) = 식품 食品 = food item; groceries
* 식품 is not used to refer to the food which you eat, but rather for food items or groceries found in a supermarket.
식 (eat) + 탁 (table) = 식탁 食卓 = (dining) table
Related Vocabulary
탁자 卓子 = table
탁구 卓球 = table tennis
음 (drink) + 식 (eat) = 음식 飮食 = food
Ex)
맛있는 음식
= delicious/tasty food
음 (drink) + 식 (eat) + 점 (store) = 음식점 飮食店 = restaurant
* The word 음식점 is typically used to refer to the restaurant as a place of business in formal situations.
Ex)
홍대 앞에는 음식점이 많다.
= There are many restaurants in front of Hongik University.
간 (gap, space) + 식 (eat) = 간식 間食 = snack
Ex)
주연 씨는 간식을 정말 좋아해요.
= Jooyeon loves snacks.
* The word 과자 for “snack” refers specifically to cookies, chips, and other confectionery, whereas 간식 can refer to a small serving of any food between meals.
분 (powder; flour) + 식 (food) = 분식 粉食 = flour-based food
* 분식 means “flour-based food” in theory, but people nowadays think of 분식 as whatever you can find in a restaurant or a street vendor which sells 떡볶이, 라면, etc.
외 (outside, exterior) + 식 (food) = 외식 外食 = to eat out, to dine out
Ex)
외식 자주 하세요?
= Do you eat out often?
과 (excessive) + 식 (food) = 과식 過食 = overeating, excessive eating
Ex)
어제 과식한 것 같아요.
= I think I ate too much yesterday.
후 (back; after) + 식 (food) = 후식 後食 = dessert
* 디저트 is also a popular word for “dessert”.
시 (test) + 식 (food) = 시식 試食 = food sampling
Ex)
큰 마트에 가면 항상 시식을 해요.
= When I go to a big supermarket, I always try the sample food.