한국 사투리로 밥 먹었어, 어디 가 물어보기

What does “사투리” mean in Korean?

사투리 is the Korean word for a regional dialect — the local way of talking, as opposed to 표준어, the standard Seoul-based Korean you learn from textbooks. The same simple phrase shifts from region to region. “Have you eaten?” is 밥 먹었어? in standard Korean, but 밥 먹었나? in Gyeongsang and 밥 먹었수다 down in Jeju. Same meaning, completely different flavour.

The easiest 사투리 to spot is Chungcheong’s, which turns the polite ending -요 (-yo) into a drawled -유 (-yu): standard 어디 가세요? (“where are you going?”) becomes 어디 가유?, and 식사는 했대유? for “did you eat?” Gyeongsang has its own clipped questions like 뭐하노? (“what are you doing?”), while Jeju is the outlier — endings like 가쿠다 are different enough that mainland Koreans often can’t follow it. The formal academic term is 방언 (bangeon), but in everyday speech everyone says 사투리.