How to Say What You Eat on Holidays in Korean: Describing Customs with -e meok-eoyo
Learn to describe holiday food customs in Korean, like "We eat turkey on Thanksgiving," using the noun + -e + meok-eoyo pattern, plus related verbs for customs and traditions.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
In Korean, describing a holiday custom is not just about naming a dish. You need a time or occasion marker, a food noun, and the verb meokda (to eat). The key pattern is [occasion] + e + [food] + eul/leul meok-eoyo. This lesson teaches you to say what people customarily eat on a specific holiday, how to ask about someone else's customs, and how to talk about traditions naturally without sounding like you are describing a one-time meal.
By the end, you can…
- say what people eat on a specific holiday using the pattern [occasion] + e + [food] + eul/leul meok-eoyo.
- ask someone what they eat on a holiday and understand the answer.
- distinguish a holiday custom from a one-time meal description using words like bopoeneun and gwanseup.
- talk about a traditional holiday food and when it is eaten.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
추수감사절에 칠면조를 먹어요.
We eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
chusugamsajeol-e chilmyeonjoreul meogeoyo
Use this to state a general custom. The particle -e marks the occasion, and -reul marks the object.
설날에 떡국을 먹어요.
We eat tteokguk on Seollal (Lunar New Year).
seollal-e tteokgugeul meogeoyo
A common Korean example. Tteokguk is a rice cake soup traditionally eaten on Lunar New Year.
추석에는 송편을 먹어요.
On Chuseok, we eat songpyeon.
chuseok-eneun songpyeoneul meogeoyo
Adding -neun after the occasion adds a mild contrast or topic emphasis, often used when comparing holidays.
명절에 뭐 먹어요?
What do you eat on holidays?
myeongjeol-e mwo meogeoyo?
A natural question to ask about holiday food customs. myeongjeol means a traditional holiday or festive day.
보통 가족이랑 같이 먹어요.
We usually eat together with family.
botong gajogirang gachi meogeoyo
botong means usually or normally. Use it to describe a customary habit rather than a single event.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is [occasion] + e + [food] + eul/reul + meokda. The particle -e attaches to a time noun like chusugamsajeol (Thanksgiving) or seollal (Lunar New Year). The object particle -eul or -reul attaches to the food noun depending on whether it ends in a consonant or vowel. For example, chilmyeonjo ends in a vowel, so it takes -reul: chilmyeonjoreul meogeoyo. Tteokguk ends in a consonant, so it takes -eul: tteokgugeul meogeoyo. To make the sentence more natural as a custom, you can add botong (usually) or gajogirang gachi (together with family).
When to use it
Use this pattern when you are describing what people generally eat on a specific holiday, not what you ate once. If you want to say what you ate last Thanksgiving, you would use past tense: chusugamsajeol-e chilmyeonjoreul meogeosseoyo. For a general custom, keep the verb in the present tense: meogeoyo. You can also use the topic particle -neun after the occasion to shift focus, as in chuseok-eneun songpyeoneul meogeoyo, which implies "as for Chuseok, we eat songpyeon." This is useful when comparing two holidays.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
한국에서는 설날에 뭐 먹어요?
In Korea, what do you eat on Seollal?hangugeseoneun seollal-e mwo meogeoyo?설날에는 떡국을 먹어요.
On Seollal, we eat tteokguk.seollal-eneun tteokgugeul meogeoyo추석에는 뭐 먹어요?
What do you eat on Chuseok?chuseok-eneun mwo meogeoyo?추석에는 송편을 먹어요. 보통 가족이랑 같이 먹어요.
On Chuseok, we eat songpyeon. We usually eat together with family.chuseok-eneun songpyeoneul meogeoyo. botong gajogirang gachi meogeoyoA little context goes a long way
Korean holiday food customs are often tied to specific days and family gatherings. Seollal and Chuseok are the two biggest traditional holidays. When describing these customs, Koreans commonly use the present tense with botong (usually) to show it is a repeated tradition, not a one-time event. Avoid saying "I eat" if you mean a general custom; use the plain present form without a subject or with a plural subject like saramdeul (people).
One thing to watch for
Saying chusugamsajeol-e chilmyeonjoreul meogeosseoyo when you mean a general custom.
Try this instead: Use the present tense for customs: chusugamsajeol-e chilmyeonjoreul meogeoyo. The past tense meogeosseoyo means you ate it once, not that it is a tradition.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How would you say "We eat tteokguk on Seollal" in Korean?
Show a sample answer
설날에 떡국을 먹어요.
This uses the occasion + e + food + eul + meogeoyo pattern. Tteokguk ends in a consonant, so it takes -eul. A valid alternative is 설날에는 떡국을 먹어요 with the topic particle -neun for emphasis.
2What is the difference between 추수감사절에 칠면조를 먹어요 and 추수감사절에 칠면조를 먹었어요?
Show a sample answer
The first is present tense and describes a general custom; the second is past tense and describes a one-time event.
The verb ending -eoyo is present, while -eosseoyo is past. For customs, use the present tense. If you are talking about a specific past Thanksgiving, the past tense is correct.
3How do you ask "What do you eat on holidays?" in Korean?
Show a sample answer
명절에 뭐 먹어요?
myeongjeol means traditional holiday. The question uses the same pattern with mwo (what) as the object. You can also ask 특정 명절에 뭐 먹어요? to specify a particular holiday.
To describe a holiday food custom in Korean, use [occasion] + e + [food] + eul/reul + meogeoyo in the present tense. Add botong or gajok-irang gachi to sound natural, and avoid past tense unless you mean a specific past event.
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