tteokbokki

Where does the word "tteokbokki" come from? It comes from Korean tteok bokki, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Tteokbokki’s story begins in Korean: tteok bokki meant “stir-fried rice cakes.” From tteok (rice cake) and bokkeum (stir-fried). It reached English by 1900s as tteokbokki. Originally a royal court dish of soy sauce and rice cakes; the spicy red version came in the 1950s. Today, tteokbokki means a popular Korean dish of chewy rice cakes stir-fried in a spicy sauce.

1. Stage 1 · Korean · medieval tteok bokki "stir-fried rice cakes", from tteok (rice cake) and bokkeum (stir-fried).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s tteokbokki "a spicy Korean dish of stir-fried rice cakes", originally a royal court dish of soy sauce and rice cakes; the spicy red version came in the 1950s.