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Korean Phrases: Ordering Food at a Restaurant

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Korean Phrases: Ordering Food at a Restaurant

주세요.
Juseyo.
Please give it to me.

메뉴 주세요.
Mehnyu juseyo.
Please give me/us the menu.

김치찌개 주세요.
Kimchi jjigae juseyo.
Please give me/us kimchi stew.

뭍 주세요.
Mool juseyo.
Please give me/us water.

계산서 주세요.
Gyesansuh juseyo.
Please give me/us the bill.


이거 주세요.
Eguh juseyo.
Please give me/us this.

반찬 더 주세요.
Banchan duh juseyo.
Please give me/us more side dishes.

김치 더 주세요.
Kimchi duh juseyo.
Please give me/us more kimchi.

안맵게 해주세요.
Ahnmepgae haejuseyo.
Please don’t make it spicy.

짜지 않게 해주세요.
Jjaji ahngae haejuseyo.
Please don’t make it salty.

뭐가 맛있어요?
Mwoga mashissuhyo?
What’s delicious?

삼겹살 일인분 주세요.
Samgyupsal eelinboon juseyo.
Please give me/us one serving of pork belly.

Or maybe you want two servings.

삼겹살 이인분 주세요.
Samgyupsal einboon juseyo.
Please give me/us two servings of pork belly.

What if you want three servings?

삼겹살 삼인분 주세요.
Samgyupsal saminboon juseyo.
Please give me/us three servings of pork belly.

See a pattern yet? To change the number of servings, you pair a Sino-Korean number with “INBOON.”

One serving: 일인분
Two servings: 이인분
Three servings: 삼인분
Four servings: 사인분
Five servings: 오인분
Six servings: 육인분


You can also replace the noun in front of INBOON to order other meats.

생갈비 일인분 주세요.
Saenggalbi eelinboon juseyo.
Please give me/us one serving of unmarinated short ribs.

차돌박이 일인분 주세요.
Chadolbagi eelinboon juseyo.
Please give me/us three servings of beef brisket.

닭갈비 일인분 주세요.
Dakgalbi eelinboon juseyo.
Please give me/us one serving of chicken “ribs.”


맛있어요.
Masshisuhyo.
It's delicious.

Separately the characters are pronounced as MAT-ISS-UH-YO. Together it’s MASSHISUHYO.

Need to make some room down there?

화장실 어디 있어요?
Hwajangshil uhdi issuhyo?
Where’s the restroom?

계산해 주세요.
Gyesanhae juseyo.
Check, please.


Traditionally Koreans fight over the bill. One person tries to pay for everyone.  If you want to be Korean, then you’d say:

제가 낼게요.
Jaega nelgaeyo.
It’s on me. (formal)

If you’d like to go Dutch, then ask:

계산서 나누어 줄 수 있어요?
Gyesansuh nanoouh julsu issuhyo?
Can you split the bill?

Some businesses only accept cash, so remember to carry the greens with you. When leaving, formally greet the worker goodbye:

안녕히 계세요. (formal)
Annyeonghee gyesaeyo.
Goodbye.
*Use if you’re the one leaving and receiver is staying.



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Korean Phrases for Shopping

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Korean Phrases for Shopping

FEATURED PHRASES & WORDS:

자켓 있어요?
Jakit issuhyo?
Do you have jackets?

You can replace "jakit/jacket" with another noun.

향수 있어요?
Hyangsu issuhyo?
Do you have perfume?

팬티 있어요?
Penti issuhyo?
Do you have panties?

양말 있어요?
Yangmal issuhyo?
Do you have socks?


The worker will say yes or no.

있어요.
Issuhyo.
We have them.

없어요.
Eobssuhyo.
We don’t have them.

You can then ask:
어디서 팔아요?
Uhdiseo parayo?
Where is it sold?

What if you want to be more specific?
Maybe you want a black dress.

검은 치마 있어요?
Geomeun chima issuhyo?
Do you have black dresses?

Or maybe you want a thick coat.

두꺼운 외투 있어요?
Dogguhoon waeteu issuhyo?
Do you have thick coats?

Simply place a conjugated adjective in front of the noun. Then add “issuhyo” after the noun.


Make sure to lift up the “yo” to make it into a question. If the “yo” goes down, it becomes a statement. For example:

Question:
가벼운 가방 있어요?
Gabyeoun gabang issuhyo?
Do you have lightweight backpacks?

Statement:
가벼운 가방 있어요.
Gabyeoun gabang issuhyo.
I have lightweight backpacks.

Question:
얇은 장갑 있어요?
Yalbeun janggap issuhyo?
Do you have thin gloves?

Statement:
얇은 장갑 있어요.
Yalbeun janggap issuhyo.
We have thin gloves.


Can’t find your size? Then ask:

더 큰 사이즈 있어요?
Deo keun ssaejeu issuhyo?
Do you have a bigger size?

Perhaps you need something smaller.

더 작은 사이즈 있어요?
Deo jageun saejeu issuhyo?  
Do you have a smaller size?

Or maybe the size is perfect, but you want a different color?

다른 색 있어요?
Dareun sek issuhyo?
Do you have it in another color?

Finally you everything you need. Time to hit the register. If you need to use the credit card, you can verify by asking:

카드 받으세요?
Kadeu badeuseyo?
Do you accept credit cards?

Always carry cash with you when shopping in Korea because some shops accept cash only. The vendor may reply:

현찰만 받아요.
Hyunchalman badayo.
We only accept cash.

In addition with some shops, you can get a discount with cash, however no discount with credit card. If you need cash, then ask:

제일 가까운 ATM 어디 있어요?
Jeil gaggaoon ATM eodiissuhyo?
Where’s the closest ATM?

Another way of saying this is:

제일 가까운 현금 인출기 어디 있어요?
Jeil gaggaoon hyungeum inchulgi eodi issuhyo?
Where’s the nearest cash machine?

After you pay for your items, you might want the receipt:

영수증 주세요.
Yeongsoojeung juseyo.
Please give me the receipt.

Perhaps you bought the item as a gift, but don’t have time to wrap it. Then ask:

포장해 주실 수 있어요?
Pojanghae jushil su issuhyo?  
Could you gift wrap it please?

When you leave the shop, politely say:

감사합니다. 안녕히 계세요.
Gamsahapnida. Annyeonghegeseyo.
Thank you. Goodbye.

Perhaps you want to go back for a refund.

환불해 주세요.
Hanboolhae juseyo.
Please give me a refund.

It’s easier to get a refund at a commercial shop than a stall. Stalls typically don’t give out receipts.

Billy Jin midnight shopping at Dongdaemun.

Billy Jin midnight shopping at Dongdaemun.

Let’s say you’re at Dongdaemun. You step into a 9-story mall tower filled with wholesale shops where you can haggle prices. You find a promising stall. Perhaps a vendor has their attention on something else. Ask for them by saying:

저기요!
Jeogiyo!
Excuse me! / Hey!

You say “jeogiyo” to get someone’s attention. It’s typically used towards vendors, waiters, waitresses and strangers. Never towards family and friends.

You find something you want. Ask for the price first before trying the clothes on.

이거 얼마예요?
Eguh ulmayeyo?
How much is this?

저거 얼마예요?
Juhguh ulmayeyo?
How much is that?

Shop stalls typically don’t let you try clothes on, especially when it comes to pants and shirts. However it doesn’t hurt to ask. Jackets are usually fine to try on.

입어봐도 돼요?
Eebuhbwado dwaeyo?
Can I try it on?

If you want to try on shoes, then you’d say:

신어봐도 될까요?
Shinuh bwado dwelggayo?
Can I try these on?

You decide to buy the item and say:

이거 주세요.
Eguh juseyo.
Please give me this one.

Or maybe you want to haggle. Then say:

좀 깎아 주세요.
Jom ggagga juseyo.
Please give me a discount.

Say it with a smile, with slight aegyo or with serious tone. Find out what haggling style works best for you. The more fluent your Korean, the higher chance of you succeeding your bargain.

Upon paying, you can say:

많이 파세요.
Manee paseyo.
Please sell a lot.

It’s a polite greeting to wish their business well.

You might’ve stayed at a shop or stall for awhile. Maybe you even tried a couple clothes on. However you’re not interested in buying anything. Or maybe you want to look at other shops before committing to your purchase. You can tell the shop owner:

더 둘러보고 올게요.
Deo dolabogo olgaeyo.
I’ll be back after looking around some more.



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Korean Phrases for Eating Street Food

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Korean Phrases for Eating Street Food

FEATURED PHRASES & WORDS:

안녕하세요!
Annyeonghaseyo!
Hello! (This formal greeting is used towards strangers and elders)

Anytime you want something, whether it be food or an item say, “Juseyo.” Which means, "Please give it to me." Place your desired noun before “juseyo.”

떡볶이 주세요.
Tteokbokki juseyo.
Please give me spicy rice cakes.

김밥 주세요.
Kimbap juseyo.
Please give me kimbap.

계란빵 주세요.
Gyeranbbang juseyo.
Please give me egg bread.

순대 주세요.
Sundae juseyo.
Please give me blood sausage.

붕어빵 주세요.
Boongeobbang juseyo.
Please give me carp-shaped pastry.

Let’s say you want ONE of something. Like ONE sweet Korean pancake. Then you’d say:

호떡 하나 주세요.
Hotteok hana juseyo.
Please give me one hotteok.

But what if you want two?

호떡 두개 주세요.
Hotteok doogae juseyo.
Please give me two hotteok.

If you don’t know the name of the food, then simplify your phrase by taking out the noun.

하나 주세요.
Hana juseyo.
Please give me one.

If you want two, three, four or more of an item, fill in the blank. Use the Native Korean number system, not the Sino-Korean Number System.

_____개 주세요.
_____gae juseyo.
Please give me _____ (pieces/units).

두개 주세요.
Doogae juseyo.
Please give me two.

세개 주세요.
Segae juseyo.
Please give me three.

네개 주세요.
Negae juseyo.
Please give me four.

다섯개 주세요.
Daseotgae juseyo.
Please give me five.

여섯개 주세요.
Yeoseotgae juseyo.
Please give me six.

If you don’t know the name of the item you want, point at the item and say:

이거 주세요.
Eguh juseyo.
Please give me this.

But maybe the item is a bit far from you. Then say:

저거 주세요.
Juhguh juseyo.
Please give me that.

Sometimes you pay a set price per item. Other times you give them a price first. This situation can occur when you buy sweet potatoes and chestnuts. 

5,000원 어치 주세요.
5,000 won eochi juseyo.
Please give me 5,000 won worth of it.

As the vendor prepares your food, you get your cash ready.

얼마예요?
Ulmayeyo?
How much is it?

The vendor hands you the food. Be polite and say:

감사합니다.
Gamsahapnida.
Thank you.

You have a bite of your amazing food. Woah, it is delicious. Let the vendor know.

맛있어요. 진짜 맛있어요.
Mashisseoyo. jinjja mashisseoyo.
It’s delicious. Really delicious.

As you leave, greet them goodbye with a slight bow.

안녕히 계세요.
Annyeonghee gaeseyo.
Goodbye. (Use if you are leaving and the other person is staying where they are.)

A couple hours later, you’re dreaming about that crispy boongeohbbang. You want more. Or maybe you wanna get some for your friend. Whatever the case, when you go back to the stall, you say with a smile:

또 왔습니다!
Ddo wasseubnida!
I’m back!

Here's a list of some popular Korean street foods:
순대 / soondae / blood sausage
떡볶이 / tteokbokki / spice cakes
붕어빵 / bungeoppang / carp-shaped pastry
김밥 / kimbap / Korean rolls
닭꼬치 / dalkggochi / chicken skewers
번데기 / beondegi / silkworm larvae
뽑기 / ppopgi / old-fashioned sugar candy
꿀타래 / kkultarae / dragon’s beard candy
계란빵 / gyeranbbang / egg bread
어묵 / eomuk / fishcake
고구마 / goguma / sweet potato
호떡 / hotteok / sweet Korean pancake



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