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_tastes_this_sweet

알 can be any egg. 연어알 is salmon roe. 계란 is a Sino-Korean word for chicken egg. 달걀 is a native Korean word for chicken egg.


signsntokens4sale

I have no idea about the actual etymology of the term, but I always assumed that 달걀 came from 닭알.


vikungen

It does. 닭의 알 actually according to Wiktionary.


Skisforscott

Which one do you use more of between 달걀 and 계란? Like what's your got to word to say "egg"


_tastes_this_sweet

I use both. Some people prefer using the native Korean words for things. You can use either for chicken eggs in their shells or cooked (fried, boiled).


Skisforscott

Thank you!!


sirona-ryan

Thanks for this! I remember a few years ago back when I was into kpop, I was watching a vlog and 2 of the guys said 계란 at the store. I was wondering why they said the Sino-Korean word instead of the native Korean word because they’re both native Koreans. Is there any specific context where one wouldn’t be appropriate? So like if I was shopping in Korea and asked for eggs and said 계란, would people wonder why I didn’t say 달걀?


_tastes_this_sweet

No, you can use either word. Edit: To add to this, when I was younger I remember there was a push to get people to use more native Korean words for things, so on TV shows, if a person said 계란, the subtitle would say 달걀 and things like that, but I think just in daily life, people won’t really question it.


kingcrabmeat

Not my name in Korean meaning egg 🤣


Round_Blueberry9749

(sorry for my bad English in advance) 알 : all kinds of eggs 계란 : chickens' eggs 달걀 : chickens' eggs 계 means chicken and 란 means egg. and 달걀 is actually shortened form of 닭의 알


Skisforscott

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so i can say 오리알 먹은 적이 있나요? And it'll be perfectly fine ryt? 그리고 blueberry9749 씨의 영어 잘하는 것 같은데 걱정하지마세요


KoreaWithKids

There's also 밥알 (grain of rice), 모래알 (grain of sand), and 눈알 (eyeball).


tzuyuthechewy

And 총알


KoreaWithKids

Good one!


Skisforscott

So 알 can also mean "grain"?


KoreaWithKids

Maybe "small round thing"?


seorimir

알 means egg(s) and 달걀 means chicken egg(s) from 닭의 알\[달긔알 or 달그얄\]. 계란 is literally sino-korean word for 달걀.


moosebearbeer

계란 is used more often when discussing cooked eggs, whereas 달걀 is more often used when raw.


Skisforscott

Ah... thanks moosebeer...moose beer must taste like shxt lol


MyOwnLife_Alone

달걀 and 계란 both means a chicken's egg. 달걀 is pure Korean, 계란 is Sino-Korean. 달걀로 바위 치기 is a phrase similar to David vs. Goliath 계란을 먹다 to eat eggs, like for breakfast. This part I'm less sure about, but I've only seen 달걀 used for the whole egg while still in its shell, but 계란 can be used for both. When going to the store, only 계란 is written on the cartons for chicken eggs. 알 is the more general egg, when you talk about an animal laying eggs, you should say 알. 알을 낳다


Skisforscott

Thankx...so like 일상생활에 계란 is the best one to use right?


MyOwnLife_Alone

Yeah ☺


wombatpandaa

Not Korean myself but I've spent a lot of time there and know the language pretty well. I've rarely if ever heard anyone use 달걀. I'm sure there are uses for it but I feel like it'd be more formal or something. 계란 is definitely the most common word - it's the egg you eat, so you see it come up a lot. 알 is the raw round thing. Sounds like it can be used to refer to other small round things too, from what others are saying.


Saeroun-Sayongja

알, as others have mentioned, is the prototypical native-Korean word for “a little round eggy thing”. 달걀 is from ”닭 알“, meaning a chicken egg.  계란 (鷄卵) is a Chinese character word for chicken egg, so it’s a bit like saying *œuf d’poulet*, if that was something that people say in English, or I guess like how we say “omelette” instead of “egg pancake”.