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What does 먹다 mean?

먹다 (meok-da, meokda)

'먹다' (meokda) primarily means 'to eat' but also has metaphorical uses in Korean.

Korean word 먹다 with eating concept

Definition & nuance

Core meaning and shades learners miss.

먹다(meok-da, meokda)

'먹다' is a verb meaning to consume food by mouth.

Nuances

  • Primarily means eating food but also used figuratively like '시간을 먹다' (to take time).
  • Can mean taking medicine or suffering damage beyond just eating food.
  • Common in colloquial speech as a friendly, everyday verb.

When to use

Eating, Figurative use, Colloquial

In context

Used to express the subject's action of consuming food directly. Common in both spoken and written Korean. It conjugates into various tenses and honorific forms.

Real-world examples

  • 밥을 먹다.

    bap-eul meok-da., bap eul meok da.

    Basic sentence expressing eating food (rice) by mouth.

  • 약을 먹다.

    yak-eul meok-da., yak eul meok da.

    '먹다' is used when taking medicine.

  • 시간을 먹다.

    si-gan-eul meok-da., si gan eul meok da.

    Figurative meaning indicating something takes a lot of time.

  • 밥을 먹었다.

    bap-eul meok-eoss-da., bap eul meok eoss da.

    Correct past tense usage.

  • 커피를 먹다.

    keo-pi-reul meok-da., keo pi reul meok da.

    Coffee is drunk, so '마시다' should be used, not '먹다'.

  • 책을 먹다.

    chaek-eul meok-da., chaek eul meok da.

    Books are not edible, so this is grammatically incorrect.

Quick quiz

  1. What is the basic meaning of '먹다'?

    '먹다'의 기본 뜻은 무엇인가요?('meok-da'uigi-bontteus-eunmu-eos-in-ga-yo?, 'meokda'uigibontteuseunmueosingayo?)

  2. What does '먹다' mean in '약을 먹다'?

    '약을 먹다'에서 '먹다'의 의미는?('yak-eulmeok-da'e-seo'meok-da'uiui-mi-neun?, 'yakeulmeokda'eseo'meokda'uiuimineun?)

  3. Is '커피를 먹다' a correct expression?

    '커피를 먹다'는 올바른 표현인가요?('keo-pi-reulmeok-da'neunol-ba-reunpyo-hyeon-in-ga-yo?, 'keopireulmeokda'neunolbareunpyohyeoningayo?)

More meaning guides

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