Topic guide
Konglish: Why Brand Names Sound Different in Korean
Foreign brand names don't get mangled at random when they enter Korean — they follow real, predictable sound rules. This page starts with those rules, then applies them to names you already recognize.
Once you see the pattern in one brand name, you can predict how most others will sound — from heavily reshaped names to ones that barely change at all.
- 01
Why Foreign Brand Names Sound Different in Korean
Learn why foreign brand names and loanwords get reshaped in Korean pronunciation — the real phonological rules behind Konglish, explained simply.
- 02
How Do You Say McDonald's in Korean?
Learn how to say McDonald's in Korean — 맥도날드 (maekdonaldeu) — and exactly why the pronunciation differs from English, sound by sound.
- 03
How Do You Say Burger King in Korean?
Learn how to say Burger King in Korean — 버거킹 (beogeoking) — and why 'burger' loses its 'r' sound quality but 'king' stays remarkably close to English.
- 04
How Do You Say KFC in Korean?
Learn how to say KFC in Korean — 케이에프씨 (keieopeussi) — read letter by letter, and why that's a completely different pattern from McDonald's or Starbucks.
- 05
How Do You Say Subway (the Sandwich Chain) in Korean?
Learn how to say Subway (the sandwich restaurant) in Korean — 서브웨이 (seobeuwei) — and how it stays distinct from 지하철, the native word for subway trains.
- 06
How Do You Say Starbucks in Korean?
Learn how to say Starbucks in Korean — 스타벅스 (seutabeokseu) — and why English's two syllables become four in Korean.
- 07
How Do You Say Coca-Cola in Korean?
Learn how to say Coca-Cola in Korean — 코카콜라 (kokakolla) — one of the closest matches to English pronunciation of any major loanword, and why.
- 08
How Do You Say Pizza Hut in Korean?
Learn how to say Pizza Hut in Korean — 피자헛 (pijaheot) — and why 'pizza' itself is one of the most naturally-adapted loanwords in the language.
- 09
How Do You Say Baskin-Robbins in Korean?
Learn how to say Baskin-Robbins in Korean — 배스킨라빈스 — one of the longest brand-name transformations, plus its beloved nickname 배라.
- 10
How Do You Say IKEA in Korean?
Learn how to say IKEA in Korean — 이케아 (ikea) — one of the simplest, most direct loanword matches, and a good final example for the Konglish rules.
- 11
How Do You Say Bus and Taxi in Korean?
Learn how to say bus (버스) and taxi (택시) in Korean, and why each word's final consonant sound needs an extra vowel that English doesn't have.
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