밥 먹었어?
bap meogeosseo?
In Korean, "did you eat?" is expressed as 밥 먹었어? (bap meogeosseo?)
A friendly greeting used to show care for someone's well-being by asking if they have had a meal.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "Did you eat rice?", where 밥 (bap) means cooked rice or a meal.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Other informal versions include 밥 먹었니? For a formal context, you can use 드시고 가셨어요?, which implies "Did you have a meal before leaving?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 먹었어 is the past tense of 먹다 (to eat) in the informal non-polite conjugation.
How do you pronounce it?
bap meogeosseo?
When do people say it?
Asking if someone has eaten is a common way to express care and affection rather than a literal inquiry into their hunger. Common responses include 응, 먹었어. (Yes, I ate.) or 아니, 아직. (No, not yet.) in informal settings, and 아직 안 먹었어요 (Not yet.) as a general reply.
Did you know?
- Because the greeting is so tied to meals, you can see variations of the word 밥 in many different contexts, such as 밥맛 which literally refers to the taste of rice but can also mean one's 'appetite' or even a person's 'personality'.
- Asking 밥 먹었어? is a linguistic remnant of Korea's history of hardship and famine, where ensuring someone had eaten was the ultimate sign of care.
- The word 밥 is believed to have originated from baby talk, similar to how 'mama' or 'papa' are used for food in many other languages around the world.
Examples in context
- 안녕! 밥 먹었어?Hello! Did you eat?
- 아직 안 먹었어. 같이 먹을까?Not yet. Shall we eat together?
- 어, 밥 먹었니?Hey, did you eat?
- 아직 안 먹었어. 같이 먹을래?Not yet. Do you want to eat together?
- 안녕하세요. 식사 하셨어요?Hello. Did you eat?
- 네, 아까 먹었어요. 고마워요.Yes, I ate a while ago. Thank you.
- 밥 먹었어?bap meogeosseo?Did you eat?
- 친구한테 밥 먹었어?라고 물어봤어.chinguhante bap meogeosseo? rago mureobwasseo.I asked my friend, "Did you eat?"
- 아침에 밥 먹었어?achim-e bap meogeosseo?Did you eat breakfast?
Example conversation
Seoyeon meets Dohyeon at a cafe in the afternoon.
- 서연 Seo-yeon도현아, 밥 먹었어?Dohyeon-a, bap meogeosseo?Dohyeon, did you eat?
- 도현 Do-hyeon아니, 아직 안 먹었어.ani, ajik an meogeosseo.No, I haven't eaten yet.
- 서연 Seo-yeon그럼 나랑 같이 먹을래?geureom narang gachi meogeullae?Then, do you want to eat with me?
- 도현 Do-hyeon그래, 좋아!geurae, joha!Sure, that sounds good!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 밥, CC BY-SA 4.0.
