미식축구
misikchukgu[miɕʰik̚t͡ɕʰuk̚k͈u]
American football in Korean is 미식축구 (misikchukgu). Wiktionary also lists 아메리칸 풋볼 (amerikan putbol).
Meaning: American football (noun)
Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 미식축구 | misikchukgu | [miɕʰik̚t͡ɕʰuk̚k͈u] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) |
| 아메리칸 풋볼 | amerikan putbol | [a̠me̞ɾikʰa̠n pʰut̚p͈o̞ɭ] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) |
The term refers to the sport of American football. It is used to distinguish the sport from association football (soccer), which is simply called 축구 in Korean.
Which one should you use?
미식축구 is the standard term used to distinguish American football from soccer. Alternatively, you can use 아메리칸 풋볼, which is a transliteration of the English name and is common in modern or media-focused contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
misikchukgu
Did you know?
- The character 美 in 미식축구 means 'beautiful', but in this specific context, it is used as a shorthand for 'America'.
- The 축구 part of 미식축구 comes from the characters for 'kick' and 'ball', which accurately describes soccer but is ironically used for a sport where kicking is not the primary action.
- The word 식 in 미식축구 means 'style' or 'way', which is a common suffix in Korean used to describe foreign methods or systems.
Examples in context
- 어제 미식 축구 경기 재밌었어!Yesterday's American football game was so much fun!
- 미식축구 경기를 보고 싶어요.misikchukgu gyeonggi-reul bogo sipeoyo.I want to watch an American football game.
- 그는 미식축구를 아주 잘해요.geuneun misikchukgu-reul aju jalhaeyo.He is very good at American football.
- 미식축구는 규칙이 복잡해요.misikchukgu-neun gyuchik-i bokjaphaeyo.American football has complex rules.
Example conversation
Minjun and Seoyeon are talking about their favorite sports.
- 민준 Min-jun서연 씨는 미식축구 좋아해요?Seoyeon ssineun misikchukgu joahaeyo?Seoyeon, do you like American football?
- 서연 Seo-yeon아니요, 저는 잘 몰라요.aniyo, jeoneun jal mollayo.No, I don't know much about it.
- 민준 Min-jun미식축구는 정말 재미있어요.misikchukguneun jeongmal jaemiisseoyo.American football is really fun.
- 서연 Seo-yeon나중에 같이 봐요.najunge gachi bwayo.Let's watch it together later.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “american football” translations and entries 미식축구, 아메리칸 풋볼, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
