How to Read a Korean Menu (Decode Any Dish)

Plenty of first-time visitors freeze at a certain kind of Korean restaurant — the small, excellent neighborhood place with a wall of dishes written only in Korean, no photos, no English. It can look impenetrable. But Korean menus often follow useful patterns: many dish names combine a main ingredient with a word describing the dish or cooking method. Once you learn a few of these, you can make a better guess about dishes you’ve never seen before. This guide on how to read a Korean menu gives you a practical starting point.

The Trick: Read the Ending

Many Korean dishes are named with a main ingredient followed by a word that describes the dish, cooking method, or style. Learn these common endings and you can often get a general idea of what you’re ordering.

Korean, pronunciation, meaning:

• 찌개 (jjigae) — a stew-like dish (김치찌개 = kimchi stew)
• 국 / 탕 (guk / tang) — soup or broth-based dishes (갈비탕 = short-rib soup)
• 볶음 (bokkeum) — stir-fried (제육볶음 = stir-fried spicy pork)
• 구이 (gui) — grilled or roasted (생선구이 = grilled fish)
• 튀김 (twigim) — deep-fried
• 무침 (muchim) — seasoned or tossed, often served as a side dish
• 조림 (jorim) — braised or simmered in a seasoned sauce
• 전 (jeon) — savory pan-fried dish or pancake (파전 = scallion pancake)
• 밥 (bap) — rice or rice-based dish (볶음밥 = fried rice)
• 면 (myeon) — noodles or a noodle dish (비빔면 = spicy mixed noodles)

See a word you don’t know ending in 찌개? It’s likely a stew. Ending in 구이? It’s likely grilled or roasted. These patterns won’t tell you everything about a dish, but they can give you a useful first clue.

Common Dishes Worth Knowing

A quick roster you’ll see on many Korean restaurant menus:

• 비빔밥 (bibimbap) — rice mixed with vegetables, egg, and sauce
• 김치찌개 / 된장찌개 — kimchi stew / soybean-paste stew
• 불고기 (bulgogi) — marinated beef, commonly grilled or cooked in a pan
• 삼겹살 (samgyeopsal) — grilled pork belly
• 냉면 (naengmyeon) — cold noodles
• 제육볶음 (jeyuk-bokkeum) — spicy stir-fried pork
• 순두부찌개 (sundubu-jjigae) — soft tofu stew
• 김밥 (gimbap) — seaweed rice rolls

Learning even a small number of these names can make a Korean-only menu much easier to scan.

Portions and Sizes

A few sizing words can save confusion:

• 인분 (inbun) — a serving (2인분 = two servings; some dishes, especially meat, may have a minimum order)
• 곱빼기 (gopbaegi) — an extra-large portion, commonly used with some noodle dishes
• 소 / 중 / 대 (so / jung / dae) — small / medium / large
• 세트 (set) — a combination or set menu

Keep in mind that portion sizes and minimum orders can vary by restaurant, so check the menu or ask the staff if you’re unsure.

When the Menu Still Beats You: Ask

Even fluent readers hit an unfamiliar dish. These phrases handle it:

• What is this? → 이거 뭐예요? (i-geo mwo-ye-yo?)
• What do you recommend? → 추천 메뉴 뭐예요? (chu-cheon me-nyu mwo-ye-yo?)
• Which one isn’t spicy? → 안 매운 거 뭐예요? (an mae-un geo mwo-ye-yo?)

Pointing at a neighboring table and asking “이거 뭐예요?” can be a practical way to ask about a dish, especially when you don’t know its name.

One honest note: at tourist-area restaurants, you’ll often find photo menus and English, which make all of this optional. But smaller neighborhood restaurants may have menus that are mainly or entirely in Korean. Once you recognize a few common endings, you’ll have more clues about what you’re looking at.

Spot the ending, make an educated guess, and ask when in doubt. Pair this with knowing how to ask for something not spicy and you can walk into many Korean restaurants with a lot more confidence.