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요리하다 vs 해주다: Cooking vs Doing for Someone

요리하다 (yo-ri-ha-da, yorihada) · 해주다 (hae-ju-da, haejuda)

'요리하다' means to cook food, while '해주다' means to do something for someone else.

Comparison of Korean verbs 요리하다 and 해주다 with usage examples

Word-by-word breakdown

One lane per word — no nested boxes, just the gist.

요리하다(yo-ri-ha-da, yorihada)

To cook or prepare food

When to use

Cooking food, Describing cooking process, Mentioning cooking as a hobby

The nuance

Used only for the act of cooking or preparing food directly.

해주다(hae-ju-da, haejuda)

To do something for someone else

When to use

Providing help, Kind actions, Responding to requests

The nuance

Used when providing help or doing an action for someone else; not limited to food.

Real-world examples

  • 엄마가 저녁을 요리했어요.

    eom-ma-ga jeo-nyeok-eul yo-ri-haess-eo-yo., eom ma ga jeo nyeok eul yo ri haess eo yo.

    Appropriate because it describes directly cooking food.

  • 엄마가 저녁을 해줬어요.

    eom-ma-ga jeo-nyeok-eul hae-jwoss-eo-yo., eom ma ga jeo nyeok eul hae jwoss eo yo.

    Natural because it implies mom cooked and did it for me.

  • 친구가 저녁을 요리해줬어요.

    chin-gu-ga jeo-nyeok-eul yo-ri-hae-jwoss-eo-yo., chin gu ga jeo nyeok eul yo ri hae jwoss eo yo.

    Means friend cooked and did it for me, so correct.

  • 친구가 저녁을 요리했어요.

    chin-gu-ga jeo-nyeok-eul yo-ri-haess-eo-yo., chin gu ga jeo nyeok eul yo ri haess eo yo.

    Correct when simply stating friend cooked dinner.

  • 나는 친구에게 숙제를 요리해줬어요.

    na-neun chin-gu-e-ge suk-je-reul yo-ri-hae-jwoss-eo-yo., na neun chin gu e ge suk je reul yo ri hae jwoss eo yo.

    '요리하다' applies only to food, so cannot be used with homework; use '해주다' instead.

  • 나는 친구에게 숙제를 해줬어요.

    na-neun chin-gu-e-ge suk-je-reul hae-jwoss-eo-yo., na neun chin gu e ge suk je reul hae jwoss eo yo.

    Natural meaning that you did homework for your friend.

  • 나는 친구에게 음식을 해줬어요.

    na-neun chin-gu-e-ge eum-sik-eul hae-jwoss-eo-yo., na neun chin gu e ge eum sik eul hae jwoss eo yo.

    Natural meaning you cooked and gave food to friend.

  • 나는 친구에게 음식을 요리해줬어요.

    na-neun chin-gu-e-ge eum-sik-eul yo-ri-hae-jwoss-eo-yo., na neun chin gu e ge eum sik eul yo ri hae jwoss eo yo.

    Natural meaning you cooked food for your friend.

Quick quiz

  1. Which expression is correct when a friend cooked food for you?

    친구가 나를 위해 음식을 만들었을 때 어떤 표현이 맞나요?(chin-gu-gana-reulwi-haeeum-sik-eulman-deul-eoss-eulttaeeo-tteonpyo-hyeon-imaj-na-yo?, chinguganareulwihaeeumsikeulmandeuleosseulttaeeotteonpyohyeonimajnayo?)

  2. Which sentence cannot use '요리하다'?

    '요리하다'를 사용할 수 없는 문장은?('yo-ri-ha-da'reulsa-yong-halsueop-neunmun-jang-eun?, 'yorihada'reulsayonghalsueopneunmunjangeun?)

  3. Which expression is appropriate when doing something for someone else?

    다른 사람을 위해 어떤 행동을 할 때 적절한 표현은?(da-reunsa-ram-eulwi-haeeo-tteonhaeng-dong-eulhalttaejeok-jeol-hanpyo-hyeon-eun?, dareunsarameulwihaeeotteonhaengdongeulhalttaejeokjeolhanpyohyeoneun?)

More comparisons to explore

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