How to Say “Easy as pie” in Korean: 누워서 떡 먹기

누워서 떡 먹기

nuwoseo tteok meokgi

Situation: Proverbs & idiomsLevel: Intermediate (TOPIK 3–4)

Meaning

Easy as pie.

Literally “eating rice cake lying down.” Like 식은 죽 먹기, it describes something very easy.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 6 · Words: 3

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
누워서
누	ㄴ+ㅜ	nu
워	ㅇ+ㅝ	wo
서	ㅅ+ㅓ	seo
떡	ㄸ+ㅓ+ㄱ	tteok
먹기
먹	ㅁ+ㅓ+ㄱ	meok
기	ㄱ+ㅣ	[끼] gi

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Tensing: after a final ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ and ㅈ become tense (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ). 먹기 → [먹끼]

Style: Set expressionSentence type: Statement or set phrase

There is no verb ending, so the phrase has no politeness level of its own: it is a short fixed expression or a noun phrase.

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “누워서 떡 먹기” mean?

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Answer: Easy as pie

Question 2 How do you say “Easy as pie” in Korean?

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Answer: 누워서 떡 먹기 nuwoseo tteok meokgi

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