땅콩 알레르기가 있어요
ttangkong alrereugiga isseoyo
The English phrase "I have a peanut allergy" is translated into Korean as 땅콩 알레르기가 있어요 (ttangkong alrereugiga isseoyo).
Use this phrase to inform others that eating or touching peanuts causes an allergic reaction. It is particularly useful to say to restaurant staff to prevent accidental cross-contamination. If you need to communicate that your allergy is severe, you can add the word 심각한 (meaning "serious") before the phrase.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 땅콩 (peanut), 알레르기 (allergy) and 가 있어요 (to have/there is).
How does it change in a sentence?
The ending -어요 makes this a polite, standard way to state your condition to strangers, servers or doctors.
How do you pronounce it?
ttangkong alrereugiga isseoyo
Did you know?
- While 'allergy' is written as 알레르기, it is a loanword from German 'Allergie', which is why the spelling looks different from the English pronunciation.
- The word for peanut, 땅콩, literally translates to 'ground bean' because the plant grows its fruit near or below the soil.
- The phrase -어요 used here is a 'polite' ending, but in a high-stress emergency, Koreans might drop this to use 'banmal' or blunt speech to convey urgency to a doctor.
Examples in context
- 땅콩 알레르기가 있어요, 조심해 주세요.ttang-kong alle-reugi isseoyo, josimhae juseyo.I have a peanut allergy, please be careful.
Example conversation
A man is checking the ingredients of a snack for his friend.
- 서연 Seo-yeon현우 씨, 이 과자 먹어도 돼요?hyeonu ssi, i gwaja meogeodo dwaeyo?Hyunwoo, can I eat this snack?
- 현우 Hyeon-woo서연 씨, 땅콩 알레르기가 있어요?seoyeon ssi, ttang-kong alle-reugi isseoyo?Seoyeon, do you have a peanut allergy?
- 서연 Seo-yeon네, 저는 땅콩 알레르기가 있어요.ne, jeoneun ttang-kong alle-reugi isseoyo.Yes, I have a peanut allergy.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo그럼 이거 먹으면 안 돼요.geureom igeo meogeumyeon an dwaeyo.Then you shouldn't eat this.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 땅콩, CC BY-SA 4.0.
