밥 먹었어요? (have you eaten?) is a way of saying "how are you?" in Korean culture.
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| This question is very common among friends. |
Koreans most of the time say 밥 먹었어요? (Bap meogeosseoyo?)", which directly translates to "Have you eaten?" or "Did you eat breakfast/lunch/dinner?"
🅰Many foreigners wonder why Koreans are so interested if they have already eaten. Also, since foreigners are not familiar with the Korean language, they may wonder what the real intention of the question is. Are you offering me food? Do you want me to buy you food? Although it may seem confusing at first, it is no more than a very particular form of greeting.
Pronunciation.
🅱 With this little greeting Koreans are not just asking if you have eaten or if you are hungry nor if you really haven't eaten yet. It has a deeper meaning and is used as a more friendly greeting that shows interest or concern for the other person's well being.
I will show you below a little more in depth the meaning behind the translation!
✅ 밥 (bap) has many translations such as: rice or meal.
✅ 먹었어요 (meo-geo-sso-yo) = verb "eat" in past tense
❤Koreans take rice very seriously, so that they use it to scold or compliment their children. When parents scold their children for their behavior, they usually yell "No bap -밥- for you!". When someone talks about his own work, 'I have earned my bap -밥-'. Even when one is grateful, and wants to make it up to the other person 'I'll buy you bap -밥- later!'
❤In the past, Korea faced significant economic hardship, and food scarcity was a major issue. Rice, in particular, was considered a luxury that not everyone could afford, making it a privilege for only a few. As a result, many people suffered from hunger. Due to these historical challenges, asking someone if they had eaten was a deeply meaningful question, as a positive response indicated well-being and good health
I hope you enjoyed reading about this particular but warm form of greeting.
♡＼(^ω^＼)
Do you know any other particular greeting that you would like to know more about? Let's talk about various greetings in other countries that you find interesting in the comments section.
I like the culture, in fact, Korean entertainment, such as K-dramas or K-pop, is in my daily life. I was curious about the fact that they ask you if you have already eaten, so I wanted to know a little bit more. I found that story, and to me "have you eaten?" was equivalent to "are you okay?". As you mentioned, I think remembering it brought back a moment of appreciation for our days and how we should be thankful.
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed about all the things you can do and this one is not an execption. And you really got my attention with this post. I think there are more expressions like this.
ReplyDeleteI love the importance they put on being well. I think asking if someone has eaten is to really be concerned of the wellbieng of the person, and not just greeting them. I think that's lovely. I also remember the classic aloha which you can use it as a greeting and goodbye, simplifying things :) Pdt: Love your content.
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