Meaning
To consume the first meal of the day.
Cultural Background
The traditional Korean breakfast (Hansik) is a full meal with rice, soup, and side dishes. Asking 'Did you eat breakfast?' is a way to show you care about someone's health. Many young Koreans now skip breakfast or have '간편식' (convenience food) like triangular kimbap from a CVS. The phrase '아침 식사' is still used, but the content of the meal has changed. It is very common for coworkers to ask each other about breakfast as a morning greeting. It's not an invitation to eat, but a social 'check-in'. When eating breakfast with elders, you must wait for them to pick up their spoon first. Using the formal '식사' instead of '밥' shows proper upbringing.
The 'Care' Factor
Asking '아침 식사 하셨어요?' is a great way to show you are a polite and caring person in Korea.
Don't use '가지다'
Never say '아침 식사 가졌어요'. It sounds like you are physically holding a meal in your hands.
Meaning
To consume the first meal of the day.
The 'Care' Factor
Asking '아침 식사 하셨어요?' is a great way to show you are a polite and caring person in Korea.
Don't use '가지다'
Never say '아침 식사 가졌어요'. It sounds like you are physically holding a meal in your hands.
Drop the '를'
In casual speech, drop the object marker: '아침 식사 했어요?' sounds more natural than '아침 식사를 했어요?'.
Rice is implied
Even if you ate toast, '식사' still works, but traditionally it implies a rice-based meal.
Test Yourself
Fill in the blank with the correct form of '아침 식사하다' in the polite past tense.
오늘 아침에 ______? (Did you have breakfast today?)
The question asks about 'today morning' (오늘 아침), which requires the past tense '했어요'.
Choose the most natural response to the question.
부장님, 아침 식사 하셨어요?
When answering for yourself, you do not use the honorific '-시-'. Therefore, '했어요' is correct, not '하셨어요'.
Match the Korean phrase with its English equivalent.
Match the following:
These are standard translations for common breakfast-related phrases.
Complete the dialogue in a hotel setting.
A: ______ 는 어디서 하나요? B: 1층 식당으로 가시면 됩니다.
In a hotel context, asking where to have '아침 식사' (breakfast) is the most common morning inquiry.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Formal vs. Casual Breakfast
Practice Bank
4 exercises오늘 아침에 ______? (Did you have breakfast today?)
The question asks about 'today morning' (오늘 아침), which requires the past tense '했어요'.
부장님, 아침 식사 하셨어요?
When answering for yourself, you do not use the honorific '-시-'. Therefore, '했어요' is correct, not '하셨어요'.
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
These are standard translations for common breakfast-related phrases.
A: ______ 는 어디서 하나요? B: 1층 식당으로 가시면 됩니다.
In a hotel context, asking where to have '아침 식사' (breakfast) is the most common morning inquiry.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
12 questionsYes, in casual speech '아침 먹었어?' is very common and means 'Did you eat breakfast?'.
'밥' is native and casual (literally 'rice'), while '식사' is Sino-Korean and more formal/polite.
Use the honorific: '부장님, 아침 식사 하셨습니까?'
Technically no, '아점' is used for brunch, but '아침 식사' can cover any meal eaten in the morning.
Traditionally yes, but many modern Koreans skip it or eat something very light.
It is a compound verb made of the noun '식사' and the verb '하다'.
No, for lunch you must say '점심 식사하다'.
Then you didn't '식사' (have a meal). You would say '커피만 마셨어요'.
Because it is the formal, medical term for nutritional intake.
Yes, but they also use '아침밥' very frequently in all contexts.
It's redundant. Better to say '아침 식사 하다' or '아침 먹다'.
'조식' is the formal noun for breakfast, usually used in hotels (e.g., '조식 포함' - breakfast included).
Related Phrases
아침 먹다
similarTo eat breakfast (casual)
조식을 먹다
specialized formTo eat hotel breakfast
아점 먹다
similarTo eat brunch
진지를 드시다
specialized formTo have a meal (honorific)
아침을 거르다
contrastTo skip breakfast
아침을 준비하다
builds onTo prepare breakfast
