How to Say ‘It’s Delicious’ in Korean

One of the best things about being in Korea is the food. Whether you are at a barbecue restaurant or trying out some snacks from a stall on the street, you are sure to want to know how to say ‘it’s delicious’ in Korean.

Ready? Here’s a quick rundown of how to say ‘it’s delicious’ in Korean so you can do just that!

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‘Delicious’ in Korean

It is delicious

The word ‘delicious’ is made up of the word 맛 (mat), meaning ‘taste’, and the verb 있다 (ittda), which means “to exist.” These are combined to make the word 맛있다 (mashittda) which literally means “taste exists”, but actually means “delicious.”

Many other expressions in Korean use 있다 as well. For example, 재미있다 (jaemi-ittda) means ‘fun’ and literally means “fun exists.” The good news is if you learn how to use one 있다 expression, you can use them all!

The opposite of 있다 is 없다 (eobda), which means ‘to not exist’. If you want to say “this food is disgusting” then you can say 맛없다 (mat eobda).

If you are talking to yourself (which is always fun), then you can say 맛있다 (mashittda) when you want to say ‘delicious’. However, if talking to somebody else, don’t forget your manners! You should always remember to use the correct level of politeness. Let’s talk formality levels!

  1. Formal/Polite

맛있습니다 (mashisseumnida)

You might hear this word in a presentation about food, in an interview, or in an announcement.

Example:

그것은 물론 맛있습니다 (geugeoseun mullon mashissumnida)

It’s delicious, of course.

 

  1. Standard

맛있어요 (mashisseoyo)

You can use this expression when talking to people who are older or not particularly close to you.

Examples:

다음 날에 먹으면 더 맛있어요 (daum nale meokeumyeon deo mashisseoyo)

They’re much more delicious if eaten the next day.

그것은 매우 달고 맛있어요 (geugeoseun maeu dalgo mashisseoyo)

It’s very sweet and delicious.

 

  1. Informal

맛있어 (mashisseo)

You can use this expression with people who are very close to you, such as with your girlfriend or date.

Example:

정말 맛있어! (jeongmal mashisseo)

Really delicious!

 

Bonus: Adjective Form of ‘Delicious’

If you want to say ‘delicious’ to describe something as in “delicious apple” then you should use the word 맛있는 (mashinnneun). This is the adjective form!

For example:

맛있는 사과 (mashinnneun sagwa) – delicious apple

맛있는 바나나 (mashinneun banana) – delicious banana

Sample sentence:

저는 맛있는 피자를 주문 할거예요

(jeoneun mashinneun pijareul jumun halgeoyeyo)

I will order a delicious pizza.

 

A Word of Caution About Romanization

We’ve added in the romanization for all of these words to help with pronunciation. However, we recommend that you try to move onto reading comfortably in Hangul (the Korean alphabet), as this will improve your pronunciation and your reading skills. It will also help you notice patterns in words, which will lead you to improve the rate at which you learn new Korean words and grammar points.

Learning vocabulary words is a great way to help you learn the basics of a language, but your language learning will only really take off one you start attempting to have conversations in Korean. Take a look at our free list of Korean phrases or our full Korean course for all the help you will need when studying Korean.

 

Well, that does it for this lesson! Now that you know how to say ‘it’s delicious’ in Korean, be sure to tell your local restaurant how great their food is!

Leave a comment below with the most delicious Korean food you know (and try and do it in Korean if you can).

Learn to read Korean and be having simple conversations, taking taxis and ordering in Korean within a week with our FREE Hangeul Hacks series: http://www.90DayKorean.com/learn

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