“Gamchil mat” is a traditional Korean word for “savory taste,” i.e., a taste with combined rich flavors such as 다시마 dashima (Korean seaweed, Kelp), 된장 fermented soybean paste, dried anchovies and other seafood, certain mushrooms, aged cheese, cured meat, jamón, or roasted tomato. Etymologically, the old Korean adjective “gamchida” means an unforgettable taste that lingers on your palate so long that you can’t help missing it after you eat.
- 아, 하몬 이베리코의 gamchil mat! 잊을 수가 없다 Oh, the savory taste of Jamón ibérico! I can’t foret.
So today, why don’t you start to use this new buzzword that Koreans have been saying for over a thousand years to identify and describe the amazing savory taste? After all, “gamchil mat” sounds much better and much more authentic than an artificial coinage like “umami” (or “You Mommy,” as some nipponophile fetishists mispronounce it), which was concocted by an MSG seasoning marketer only a hundred years ago.
The Six Basic Tastes in Korean Gastronomy:
- 짠맛 salty taste
- 신맛 sour taste
- 쓴맛 bitter taste
- 단맛 sweet taste
- 매운맛 spicy taste [ hot ]
- Gamchil mat: savory taste
Please note that the above noun forms of all the tastes end with 맛, meaning “taste.” The “ㅅ” at the end of a stand-alone syllable is pronounced like [t], according to the Korean final consonant sound rule (말음법칙):
The syllables ending with ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ ㅎ => pronounced as if it is represented by [t], if in a stand-alone word, or followed by another consonant:
- 맛 taste, savor => [mat]
- 멋 stylishness, charm => [meot]
- 낯 daytime => [nat]
- 맛 폭탄 taste bomb [ 맛 [ㅅ s] is followed by another consonant [ㅍ p] => pronounced as [t] [ mat poktan ] ]
When it is followed by a vowel, however, the original phoneme retains the sound, often as in liaison in French:
- 이 맛은 무엇이냐? What is this taste? [ 맛 [ㅅ s] is followed by a vowel [으 eu] => pronounced as [s] [i maseun mueosinya] ]
Level A1: In the video, please listen carefully to how “Gamchil mat” is pronounced. The word appears four times in the video. How do you write it in 한글?
Korean vocabulary has a plethora of additional taste words, e.g.,
떫은맛 tannic taste [ think unripe persimmon or unaged Burgundies]
고소한 맛 nutty taste
느끼한 맛 greasy taste [ creamy, fatty food taste ]
[RECAP] How to Describe Tastes in the Real Korean Way:
Monobility® Group
