Learn how to ask for something
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| In Korean, there is a phrase that should be memorized by any traveler, visitor or even resident. This phrase will be your Swiss Army Knife of phrases. It is used in so many different ways and forms. This phrase is crazy. Now let’s imagine you’ve booked a vacation for Seoul. You’ve arrived and you have a craving for some Korean Bacon. You walk into a restaurant with all these delicious savory looking meats on the menu. You see the one that you want, but how can you order. |
| You just got to Korea. Well, Macgyver, it’s a good thing you are listening to this podcast. We’ve got your Swiss Army Knife right here. To order something on the menu, let’s start with the simple point, And this please. This please in Korean is 이거 주세요 (igeo juseyo). One time slowly, it’s 이거 주세요 (igeo juseyo). And now by syllable, 이-거 주-세-요 (i-geo ju-se-yo). Let’s break down the components. The first word, 이거 (igeo), means “this.” One time slowly, 이거 (igeo). The next word, 주세요 (juseyo), is a rough translation of “please.” One time slowly, it’s 주세요 (juseyo). Literally this means give but it’s used much like the English please. Whenever you are asking someone to do something for you or give something to you, you use 주세요 (juseyo). |
| So all together, we have 이거 주세요 (igeo juseyo), or literally, “this please.” Very straightforward but don’t forget to point. All right, let’s say you see a delicious piece of meat on a poster outside but can’t find it on the menu. Let’s point at the poster and say, that please. In Korean, it would be 그거 주세요 (geugeo juseyo). And now by syllable, 그-거 주-세-요 (geu-geo ju-se-yo). The first word 그거 (geugeo) means “that.” One time slowly, it’s 그거 (geugeo). The second 주세요 (juseyo) once again means “please.” One time slowly, 주세요 (juseyo). Literally the phrase is “that please.” |
| Now, if you know what you want and don’t even have to look at the menu, you can simply say the word you want in front of 주세요 (juseyo). Let’s go with 김치 (gimchi). To ask for some 김치 (gimchi), we can say, 김치 주세요 (gimchi juseyo). One time slowly, 김치 주세요 (gimchi juseyo) and now by syllable, 김-치 주-세-요 (gim-chi ju-se-yo). This means Kimchi please. If you don’t know what Kimchi is, it’s probably Korea’s national food. Every Korean eats Kimchi and it’s not an exaggeration. Kimchi is salted and spiced Chinese cabbage. It’s left out for a few days to ferment. After that, it’s good to eat. The fermentation part sounds a little gross but it’s addicting. My Canadian friend got hooked on Kimchi and literally had to have it every meal. He always felt like something was missing if he didn’t eat Kimchi. |
| Okay, to close our today’s lesson, we’d like for you to practice what you’ve learned. I will provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out loud. You will have a few seconds before I give you the answer so 화이팅 (hwaiting)! |
| This, please - 이거 주세요 (igeo juseyo). |
| That, please - 그거 주세요 (geugeo juseyo). |
| Kimchi, please - 김치 주세요 (gimchi juseyo). |
| All right, that’s going to do it for today. |
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