What Does 안주 (Anju) Mean in Korean?
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · Updated · How we write & review
After this page, you can read an 안주 (anju) menu at a Korean pub and pick food to go with your drinks.
10-second answer
What does Anju mean?
안주 (anju) means food eaten specifically alongside alcohol — not a snack in general, but the category of food that PAIRS with drinking. Korean drinking culture treats anju as essential, not optional: ordering drinks with no anju at all is unusual and can even draw a confused look from staff.
Quick check — did that land?
1. What does 안주 specifically refer to?
Quick Examples
안주 뭐 시킬까?
anju mwo sikilkka?
What should we order to go with the drinks?
이 집 안주가 맛있어서 유명해요.
i jip anjuga masisseoseo yumyeonghaeyo.
This place is famous for its anju.
See also: 소주 (soju) meaning and culture
Common Anju
| Anju | What it is |
|---|---|
| 치킨 (chikin) | Korean fried chicken — the classic 치맥 pairing with beer |
| 삼겹살 | Grilled pork belly, paired with soju |
| 마른안주 (mareun-anju) | "Dry anju" — dried squid, nuts, jerky-style snacks |
| 과일 안주 | Fruit platters — a lighter option, common with lower-proof drinks |
| 족발/보쌈 | Pig's trotters / boiled pork wraps — hearty bar food |
Reading an Anju Menu: Six Dishes Outside a Beer Pub
Pub menus are good reading practice, because dish names are built from a few repeating pieces: the main ingredient, how it's cooked, and sometimes how it was prepared first. These are the six dishes on the sandwich boards:
| On the board | The pieces | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 한우 육회와 감태 | 한우 Korean beef · 육회 seasoned raw beef · 와 and · 감태 thin seaweed sheets | Korean beef tartare, with seaweed to wrap each bite |
| 핫크리스피 치킨 | 핫 hot · 크리스피 crispy · 치킨 fried chicken | Spicy crispy fried chicken — three English words written in Hangul |
| 물떡 모둠꼬치 어묵탕 | 물떡 soft rice cake · 모둠 assorted · 꼬치 skewers · 어묵탕 fish-cake soup | A pot of fish-cake skewers and rice cakes in hot broth |
| 반건조 갑오징어 버터구이 | 반건조 half-dried · 갑오징어 cuttlefish · 버터구이 butter-grilled | Butter-grilled, half-dried cuttlefish |
| 핫페퍼로니 피자 | 핫 hot · 페퍼로니 pepperoni · 피자 pizza | Spicy pepperoni pizza (the English on the board adds "pastry" — a flaky crust) |
| 새우관자 숙주 볶음우동 | 새우 shrimp · 관자 scallop · 숙주 bean sprouts · 볶음 stir-fried · 우동 udon | Stir-fried udon with shrimp, scallops and bean sprouts |
Three pieces turn up on almost every Korean menu, so they're worth memorizing: 구이 (grilled — 버터구이, 생선구이), 볶음 (stir-fried — 볶음우동, 볶음밥) and 모둠 (an assortment — the word to look for when you want one big plate to share). And notice how much of this menu is chicken, pizza and udon. Anju isn't a fixed list of traditional dishes: at a pub, almost anything counts, as long as it's shared and goes with the drink — which is how 치맥 became a pairing of its own. For ordering it, see ordering food in Korean.
물떡 어묵탕 하나랑 생맥주 두 잔 주세요.
multteok eomuktang hanarang saengmaekju du jan juseyo.
One fish-cake soup with rice cakes and two draft beers, please.
Nobody reads out the whole 물떡 모둠꼬치 어묵탕 when ordering — the short name is enough.
Why Anju Matters So Much
Drinking without anju is sometimes called 깡술 ("bare/plain drinking") and can come across as either unusual or a little concerning, since it's associated with drinking too fast or too seriously rather than the social, paced style anju supports. This connects to the broader pattern covered in the soju and drinking etiquette pages — Korean drinking culture is built around shared food and pacing, not drinking as a stand-alone activity.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Thinking anju is just 'a snack'
It specifically describes food meant to accompany alcohol — not all Korean snack food qualifies as anju in context.
Mistake #2 — Skipping it to save money
It's such a core part of the culture that most drinking spots expect at least some anju order, and going without can seem odd rather than frugal.
Mini Quiz
2. What is 깡술?
3. What is 마른안주?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
The single most famous anju-and-drink pairing in Korea deserves its own page.
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