How to Order at a Restaurant

Learn how to order at a restaurant

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Korean by KoreanClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order at a restaurant in Korean.

For example, "Excuse me, water, please." is

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

Yun-seok Yu, is at a restaurant with his wife.

He orders a water.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

물 (mul)

"water"

물

알겠습니다 (al-get-seum-ni-da)

"understood"

알겠습니다

Listen to the conversation.

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

Once more with the English translation.

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

"Excuse me, water, give me please."

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

"Okay, understood."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Yun-seok asks for water?

"Excuse me, water, please."

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

First is the phrase 저기요 (jeo-gi-yo), meaning, "Excuse me." 저기요 (enunciated). 저기요.

This is used to get the attention of someone the speaker doesn't know well, and in this case, to call for the waiter.

After this is 물 (mul), "water." 물 (enunciated). 물.

Next is the phrase 주세요 (ju-se-yo), which means "(give) please." 주세요. 주세요.

주세요 is from the verb 주다 (ju-da), "to give." 주다 (ju-da).

All together, 저기요, 물 주세요, literally means "Excuse me, water give please," but translates as "Excuse me, water, please."

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

Note: to soften your request, you can add 좀 (jom) as in "물 좀 주세요." (Mul jom ju-se-yo.) 좀 literally means "little," but it's often used to make your request sound softer.

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember the waiter’s response,

"Okay, understood."

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

First is 네 (ne), "yes," or "okay," in this context. 네. 네.

Next is 알겠습니다 (al-get-seum-ni-da), meaning "understood." 알겠습니다 (enunciated). 알겠습니다.

알겠습니다 is from the verb 알다 (al-da), "to know," or "to understand." 알다 (al-da).

Note the sentence-closing ending 습니다 (seum-ni-da), indicating formal speech.

All together, it’s 네, 알겠습니다, meaning "Okay, understood."

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

The pattern is

저기요, ITEM 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, {ITEM} ju-se-yo.)

"Excuse me, {ITEM} please."

저기요, ITEM 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, {ITEM} ju-se-yo.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the object you're requesting.

Imagine you’d like the menu. 메뉴 (me-nyu). 메뉴 (enunciated). 메뉴.

Say

"Excuse me, the menu, please."

Ready?

저기요. 메뉴 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, me-nyu ju-se-yo.)

"Excuse me, the menu, please."

저기요. 메뉴 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, me-nyu ju-se-yo.)

When trying to get someone’s attention at a place where you sit and are served, like a restaurant, some people also raise their hand to be more noticeable.

Again, the key pattern is

저기요, ITEM 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, {ITEM} ju-se-yo.)

Excuse me, {ITEM} please.

저기요, ITEM 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, {ITEM} ju-se-yo.)

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

"Excuse me, water, please."

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

메뉴 주세요. (Me-nyu ju-se-yo.)

"The menu, please."

메뉴 주세요. (Me-nyu ju-se-yo.)

이거 주세요. (I-geo ju-se-yo.)

"This one, please."

이거 주세요. (I-geo ju-se-yo.)

계산서 주세요. (Gye-san-seo ju-se-yo.)

"The check, please."

계산서 주세요. (Gye-san-seo ju-se-yo.)

저기요, 계산서 부탁해요. (Jeo-gi-yo, gye-san-seo bu-tak-hae-yo.)

"Excuse me, I'd like the check."

저기요, 계산서 부탁해요. (Jeo-gi-yo, gye-san-seo bu-tak-hae-yo.)

Did you notice how the last speaker replaced 주세요 (ju-se-yo) with 부탁해요 (bu-tak-hae-yo)?

저기요, 계산서 부탁해요. (Jeo-gi-yo, gye-san-seo bu-tak-hae-yo.)

"Excuse me, I'd like the check."

First is 저기요 (jeo-gi-yo), "Excuse me." 저기요.

This is used to get the attention of someone the speaker doesn't know well, and in this case, to call for the waiter.

After this is 계산서(gye-san-seo), "check," as in the total bill at a restaurant. 계산서. 계산서.

Next is 부탁해요 (bu-tak-hae-yo), meaning "I'd like to request." 부탁해요. (enunciated). 부탁해요.

부탁해요 is from the verb 부탁하다 (bu-tak-ha-da), "to request," or "to ask someone to do something." 부탁하다 (bu-tak-ha-da).

All together, 저기요, 계산서 부탁해요, literally means "Excuse me, the check I'd like to request," and translates as, "Excuse, I’d like the check." 저기요, 계산서 부탁해요.

The pattern is

저기요, {ITEM} 부탁해요. (Jeo-gi-yo, {ITEM} bu-tak-hae-yo.)

Excuse me, {ITEM} please.

저기요, {ITEM} 부탁해요.

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use the pattern

저기요, {ITEM} 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, {ITEM} ju-se-yo.)

Excuse me, {ITEM} please.

저기요, {ITEM} 주세요.

Let’s review the key words.

메뉴(me-nyu),

"menu"

메뉴. 메뉴.

이거(i-geo),

"This"

이거.이거.

계산서(gye-san-seo),

"check"

계산서. 계산서.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "Excuse me?"

저기요. (Jeo-gi-yo.)

And how to say "water?"

물. (mul.)

Do you remember how Yun-seok Yu says, "Excuse me, water, please?"

저기요, 물 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, mul ju-se-yo.)

Do you remember how to say "okay?"

네. (ne.)

Do you remember how the waiter says, "Okay, understood?"

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

Do you remember how to say "check?"

계산서. (gye-san-seo.)

And how to say "menu?"

메뉴. (me-nyu.)

Do you remember how to say "this?"

이거. (i-geo.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Yeon-a, and you’re at a restaurant. Get the waiter’s attention, and ask for the menu, or 메뉴(me-nyu) in Korean.

Ready?

저기요, 메뉴 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, me-nyu ju-se-yo.)

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

Listen again and repeat.

저기요, 메뉴 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, me-nyu ju-se-yo.)

Let’s try another.

You see a picture of something you’d like on the menu.

Order it using the word for "this.", or 이거(i-geo) in Korean.

Ready?

저기요, 이거 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, i-geo ju-se-yo.)

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

Listen again and repeat.

저기요, 이거 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, i-geo ju-se-yo.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Yun-seok Yu, and you’d like the check, or 계산서(gye-san-seo) in Korean.

Ready?

저기요, 계산서 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, gye-san-seo ju-se-yo.)

네, 알겠습니다. (Ne, al-get-seum-ni-da.)

Listen again and repeat.

저기요, 계산서 주세요. (Jeo-gi-yo, gye-san-seo ju-se-yo.)

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to order at a restaurant in Korean, an essential skill for dining at a restaurant.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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