안녕하세요🤗! In this lesson, I'll show you useful words to describe flavors! I'm personally a big foodie so excited to talk about this lesson! Don't forget to add the new words to your adjective organizer!
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<Table of Contents>
1. Flavor Adjectives A
There are lots of adjectives or verbs to use to describe flavors. For your convenience study, I'll divide flavor adjectives into two parts.
Quick Chart
to be tasty | |
to be not tasty | |
to be sweet | |
to be bitter | |
to be salty | |
to be bland | |
(saltness) to be perfect |
Walk-Through
to be tasty |
맛 means "flavor." 있다 is a word showing "existence." So, 맛있다 means there is a flavor that turns out to be "delicious" or "tasty" in Korean. Since 맛 is a noun, you can attach the subject marker and separate the word; 맛이 있다.
와! 정말 맛있어요. Wow! It's really tasty.
to be not tasty |
없다 is the opposite word of 있다. In technical meaning, 맛없다 would mean there is no flavor. But it actually means that something tastes bad. You can separate this word into 맛이 없다.
너무 맛이 없어요. It tastes too bad.
Then, how can we say there is "literally" no flavor? Then, you can say "아무 맛이 없다." 아무 means any, so it emphasizes that there is no flavor at all.
⚠️ The pronunciation of 맛있다 and 맛없다
맛없다 is pronounced [마덥따] while 맛있다 is pronounced as [마싣따]. Even though they both start with 맛 and are followed by the no-consonant sound ㅇ. Are you curious why? Then, please click here to read my detailed pronunciation lesson.
to be sweet |
There are some variations for this word. If you are a beginner, you can just focus on the base meaning 달다.
달콤하다: to be sweet with a positive meaning.
달달하다: Actually, it's not a registered word in a dictionary. But many people these days use it to mean "to be sweet."
사탕은 달아요. Candies are sweet.
to be bitter |
Isn't this word familiar? 쓰다 as a verb means "to use" or "to write." As an adjective, it means "to be bitter."
블랙 커피는 써요. Black coffee is bitter.
to be salty |
Salt in Korean is 소금. When you put too much 소금, food will become 짜다.
국이 너무 짜요. The soup is too salty.
to be bland |
When there is not enough 소금(salt), food will be 싱겁다.
반찬이 너무 싱거워요. The side dishes are too bland.
to be well-seasoned |
Then, how can we say when the saltness is perfect? 간 is a noun used to describe saltness. 맞다 means to be right. So, 간이 맞다 means the food has the right amount of salt!
There are some other variations for this expression.
간이 알맞다 - 알맞다 means to be proper/appropriate.
간이 딱 좋다 - 딱 is an adverb with many meanings. In this case, you can understand it precisely or perfectly. 좋다 means to be good. "딱 좋다" usually works as a chunk when something is precise and perfect.
딱 can be attached with 간이 맞다 or 알맞다 as well. It emphasizes the expression.
국물 간이 딱 맞아요. The broth is perfect.
Worksheet
I prepared the word practice worksheet for each section. They are free and printable! Make sure to practice each word and read them aloud as you write.
2. Flavor Adjectives B
Quick Chart
to be sour | |
to be sweet and sour | |
to be spicy | |
to be greasy | |
to have a nutty flavor | |
to be astringent |
Walk-Through
to be sour |
시다 means to be sour, tart, vinegary. It also has some variations.
새콤하다 - to be sour + good taste
시큼하다 - to be sour + bad taste
포도가 너무 셔요. These grapes are too sour.
to be sweet and sour |
With 새콤하다, if you combine 달콤하다(to be sweet), there is a word 새콤달콤하다. It is a sweet and sour flavor but with a good vibe.
There is a Korean chewy candy called 새콤달콤, and you can probably be able to guess how it tastes. 🤣If you want to try it, please click the link. You can purchase it through the Amazon.
to be spicy |
이 라면은 너무 매워요. This ramen is too spicy!
Koreans are famous for being proud of their "eating spicy food well." Have you ever tried 불닭볶음면(the spicy chicken stir-fry noodles)? There were even challenges eating this ramen. 🤣 I personally love this ramen and highly recommend trying it if you never tried it yet!
to be greasy |
When a food contains too much oil, people call it 느끼하다. It is often used to describe cheesy situations or people.
치킨이 너무 느끼해요. This fried chicken is too greasy.
You may understand the word as you read it―치킨 (chicken). However, 치킨 refers to fried chicken in Korea. A live chicken is called 닭.
to have a nutty flavor |
There is not one word in English that matches 고소하다. You can think of it as a flavor from nuts. It's the smell or taste of roasted sesame or newly baked bread. (Definition from the Naver dictionary)
깨가 아주 고소해요. Sesame tastes very nutty.
to be astringent/puckery |
떫다 is a type of bitterness. Usually, unripe persimmons are described with this word.
이 감은 맛이 떫어요. This persimmon is astringent.
Worksheet
Let's practice these words with the worksheet! It's free and printable. Please download and use it to improve your Korean skills! 😊
3. Flavor Nouns
Now, I'll show you the nouns. If you study the flavor adjectives above, you may be able to guess where these nouns came from. I'll explain that in the walk-through section.
Quick Chart
flavor | |
sweet flavor | |
bitter flavor | |
sour flavor | |
salty flavor | |
spicy flavor | |
umami |
Walk-Through
The nouns can be used with the verb or adjective like 있다(exist), 나다(to appear), 돌다(to circle), 풍부하다(to be rice, abundant).
sweet flavor |
단맛 came from 달다 (to be sweet).
쌀에서 단맛이 나요. I can taste the sweet flavor of the rice.
bitter flavor |
쓴맛 came from 쓰다 (to be bitter).
살짝 쓴맛이 있어요. There is a little bit of bitter flavor.
sour flavor |
신맛 came from 시다 (to be sour).
식초는 신맛이 나요. Vinegar tastes sour.
salty flavor |
짠맛 came from 짜다 (to be salty).
짠맛이 너무 세요. The salty flavor is too strong.
spicy flavor |
매운맛 came from 맵다 (to be spicy). 매운맛 is technically not a flavor but a pain in the mouth. But this is what Koreans say.
저는 매운맛을 좋아해요. I like the spicy flavor.
umami/savory flavor |
감칠맛 is often translated as savory. It is also known as an umami flavor. You can find it in oyster sauce, soy sauce, seafood, or mushrooms. MSG is the food additive that concentrates this flavor. Korean dictionary explains it as "the taste of food that makes your mouth water."
해산물 파스타에서 감칠맛이 나요. There is an umami flavor from the seafood pasta.
Worksheet
4. Food Textures
Let's talk about the texture of food. It is another important part of describing the flavor in Korean. It is called 식감. There are many similar words with very subtle differences, so I recommend checking the walk-through section!
Quick Chart
to be soft/tender | |
to be soft/fluffy | |
to be soft/elastic | |
to be mushy | |
to be soggy | |
to be tough | |
to be chewy | |
to be hard | |
to be crunchy | |
to be crispy | |
to be pungent |
Walk-Through
to be soft, smooth, tender |
부드럽다 has many meanings. The representative meaning is to be soft. You can also use this to describe the texture of meat as tender or an alcoholic beverage as smooth.
고기가 부드러워요. Meat is tender.
맥주가 정말 부드러워요. The beer is really smooth.
to be soft/fluffy |
It is not only used to describe food but when it does it is usually used to describe fluffy food like souffle, pancakes, or souffle pancakes(yes, it's real food). It is often used in 폭신폭신하다 form.
팬케이크가 폭신폭신해요. Pancakses are fluffy.
If you are curious about souffle pancakes, try this product.
to be soft and tender |
말랑하다 in the dictionary says to be soft and tender. It has a vibe of elasticity though. The feeling you can feel when you touch or push jellies or marshmallows is 말랑하다. It is commonly used as 말랑말랑하다. It is also used in 말캉하다. 말캉하다 sounds a bit more elastic than just 말랑하다.
젤리가 말랑말랑해요. Jelly is soft.
to be mushy/squashy |
When something is overcooked or overripe, you can use 물컹하다. It is so soft that it almost falls apart. While 말랑하다 or 말캉하다 has a positive vibe, 물컹하다 is usually used with a negative meaning. It is often used as 물컹물컹하다.
젤리가 물컹물컹해요. Jelly is mushy.
to be soggy |
시리얼이 눅눅해요. The cereal is soggy.
to be tough |
질기다 is to be used to describe when meat is tough. So, it is antonym of 부드럽다. It includes a negative vibe.
고기가 너무 질겨요. Meat is too tough.
to be chewy |
In Korea, people enjoy the chewy texture. 쫄깃하다 also used in 쫄깃쫄깃하다 form.
이 떡은 아주 쫄깃쫄깃해요. This rice cake is very chewy.
Have you ever tried 떡볶이(tteok-bo-kki)? It's a rice cake(떡) cooked in spicy pepper sauce. It's one of the famous Korean snacks and my favorite Korean food. You can feel 쫄깃하다! I'll share the link so you can try 떡볶이!
to be hard |
사탕이 딱딱해요. Candies are hard.
By the way, 사탕 means candies. People also use 캔디 these days.
to be crunchy |
바삭하다 means being very parched with no moisture left, which is easy to crush. In English, it can be translated into many meanings―to be crunchy, rustling, or crisp. It's commonly used as 바삭바삭하다. Cookies, chips, and fried foods can be 바삭하다.
이 과자는 바삭바삭해요. This snack is crunchy.
to be crispy, crunchy |
사과가 아삭아삭해요. Apples are crunchy.
⚐ 아삭하다 and 바삭하다 differences:
아삭하다 and 바삭하다 look similar and the meanings are similar too. While 바삭하다 is used to describe cooked food, 아삭하다 is used for uncooked fruits or vegetables. As you can guess, it is also usually used as 아삭아삭하다.
to be pungent |
톡 쏘다 itself is not the word that is registered in the dictionary. 쏘다 is a verb that has many meanings like to shoot, to sting to snap. 톡 is an adverb meaning pop or sharply. It's just a word to emphasize 쏘다.
톡 쏘다 is often used for carbonated beverages―as if the bubbles shoot your mouth. Here is an easy memorizing method, soda is 톡 쏘다! (If it doesn't make sense to you, read it aloud. You'll know what I mean!)
콜라가 톡 쏴요. Coke is bubbly.
Worksheet
5. Wrap-up: Tasty in Korean
You learned many words to describe the flavors and textures of food. Make sure to download each worksheet from the section and use it to practice.
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