kimchi

noun

kim·​chi ˈkim-chē 

variants or less commonly kimchee

: a spicy, pungent vegetable dish that consists of one or more pickled and fermented vegetables and especially napa cabbage and radishes with various seasonings (such as garlic, red chili pepper, ginger, scallions, and anchovy paste) and that is the national dish of South Korea

To Koreans, life without "kimchi"—that spicy, fermented pickled vegetable mixture, which accompanies every Korean meal—is unthinkable.

—K. Connie Kang

Korean buckwheat noodles have more of a kick, often delivered with a little spicy kimchi.

—David Tanis

Examples of kimchi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Standout dishes like the shiitake tempeh with a kimchi emulsion, carrots and a miso sauce and the quinoa risotto with asparagus, coconut, peach chutney and ginger are a journey through textures, colors and flavors. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

French fries are Somssi-fied with two seasonings, homemade furikake and powdered kimchi cheese. —Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 2 June 2026

Traditional preparations — Korean kimchi, Japanese miso, Eastern European sauerkraut, Central Asian kefir — have been refined over centuries to preserve the microbial communities that make these foods more than the sum of their ingredients. —Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2026

Add kimchi or sauerkraut to sandwiches and burgers. —Isabel Vasquez Rd Ldn, Health, 15 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Korean kimch'i

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above