Speaking · 6 min read · Published October 5, 2026 · Beginner (TOPIK 1–2)
The short version: every order uses one pattern: item + number + 주세요. 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요 is one iced americano; 비빔밥 하나 주세요 is one bibimbap. At a café, staff will ask 드시고 가세요? (eating here?): answer 먹고 갈게요 or 포장이요. At a restaurant, call staff with 여기요! and ask for the bill with 계산해 주세요.
Level: TOPIK 1–2. You need the native Korean numbers one to four, two counters and 주세요. Staff questions use polite service endings, which you only need to recognise. Hangul, romanisation and English on every line.
Ordering is the first real Korean conversation most visitors have, and it happens several times a day. It is also one of the most predictable: the staff ask the same few questions in roughly the same order, and every answer fits one pattern.
One pattern for every order
item+number + counter+주세요
아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
aiseu amerikano han jan juseyo
One iced americano, please.
김치찌개 하나, 비빔밥 하나 주세요.
gimchijjigae hana, bibimbap hana juseyo
One kimchi stew and one bibimbap, please.
이거 두 개 주세요.
igeo du gae juseyo
Two of these, please. (pointing at the menu)
Orders use the native Korean numbers, which shorten before a counter: 하나 → 한 잔, 둘 → 두 잔, 셋 → 세 잔, 넷 → 네 잔. Prices, on the other hand, use Sino-Korean numbers (사천오백 원). Both systems are explained in Korean numbers: native vs Sino-Korean.
Counter
For
Example
잔
cups and glasses
라테 두 잔
개
things, pieces
케이크 한 개
인분
portions (per person), with Sino-Korean numbers
삼겹살 2인분 (이인분)
명
people
세 명이요
At a café: what the staff ask
1 · Ordering
They say
어서 오세요. 주문 도와드릴게요.
eoseo oseyo. jumun dowadeurilgeyo
Welcome. What can I get you?
You say
아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
aiseu amerikano han jan juseyo
One iced americano, please.
2 · Hot or iced
They say
따뜻한 거 드릴까요, 아이스 드릴까요?
ttatteutan geo deurilkkayo, aiseu deurilkkayo?
Hot or iced?
You say
따뜻한 거요.
ttatteutan geoyo
Hot, please.
아이스요.
aiseuyo
Iced, please.
Iced americano is so popular in Korea that it has nicknames: 아아 (아이스 아메리카노) and, for the hot version, 뜨아 (뜨거운 아메리카노). 얼죽아, short for “iced americano even if I freeze to death”, describes people who order it all winter.
3 · Size
They say
사이즈는 어떻게 해 드릴까요?
saijeuneun eotteoke hae deurilkkayo?
What size would you like?
You say
큰 거요.
keun geoyo
A large one.
작은 거요.
jageun geoyo
A small one.
Chains print their own size names on the menu (tall, grande, regular, large). Reading the name off the board always works: 톨 사이즈요.
4 · Here or to go
They say
드시고 가세요?
deusigo gaseyo?
Are you having it here?
매장에서 드세요?
maejangeseo deuseyo?
Eating in the store? (same question)
You say
먹고 갈게요.
meokgo galgeyo
I'll have it here.
포장이요.
pojangiyo
To take away.
가져갈게요.
gajyeogalgeyo
I'll take it with me.
Many cafés serve drinks for the table in a mug or glass and use paper or plastic cups only for takeaway, which is why they ask. 테이크아웃이요 is understood everywhere too.
5 · Waiting for your drink
They say
진동벨 울리면 가지러 오세요.
jindongbel ullimyeon gajireo oseyo
When the buzzer goes off, come and collect it.
You say
네, 감사합니다.
ne, gamsahamnida
OK, thank you.
The 진동벨 is the vibrating pager you are handed with your receipt. When it buzzes, take it back to the pick-up counter.
Points cards come up here too (포인트 적립하시겠어요?), and the answer is the same as in a convenience store: 괜찮아요.
Changing your drink
샷 추가해 주세요.
syat chugahae juseyo
An extra shot, please.
연하게 해 주세요.
yeonhage hae juseyo
Make it weaker, please.
시럽 빼 주세요.
sireop ppae juseyo
No syrup, please.
얼음 조금만 넣어 주세요.
eoreum jogeumman neoeo juseyo
Just a little ice, please.
Ordering at a kiosk. Many cafés and fast-food places take orders on a touch screen (키오스크). The words you need: 매장 (eat in) or 포장 (take away) on the first screen, 주문하기 (order), 결제하기 (pay) and 카드 결제 (pay by card). Most kiosks also have an English button.
At a restaurant: from the door to the bill
1 · At the door
They say
어서 오세요. 몇 분이세요?
eoseo oseyo. myeot buniseyo?
Welcome. How many people?
You say
두 명이요.
du myeongiyo
Two.
혼자예요.
honjayeyo
Just me.
Staff count you politely with 분; you count yourselves with the plain 명. Never say 두 분이요 about your own group.
2 · Calling the staff
You say
여기요!
yeogiyo!
Over here!
저기요!
jeogiyo!
Excuse me!
Good to know
Raising your voice a little to call staff is normal and polite in Korea; waiting silently for someone to notice you can mean waiting a long time. Many tables also have a call button (호출벨).
3 · Ordering
They say
주문하시겠어요?
jumunhasigesseoyo?
Are you ready to order?
You say
김치찌개 하나, 비빔밥 하나 주세요.
gimchijjigae hana, bibimbap hana juseyo
One kimchi stew and one bibimbap, please.
4 · Barbecue and portions
They say
고기는 2인분부터 주문 가능해요.
gogineun iinbunbuteo jumun ganeunghaeyo
Meat starts from two portions.
You say
그럼 삼겹살 2인분 주세요.
geureom samgyeopsal iinbun juseyo
Then two portions of pork belly, please.
인분 is a portion for one person, and it is counted with Sino-Korean numbers: 이인분, 삼인분. A two-portion minimum is common for barbecue and some stews.
5 · Spice level
They say
많이 매운데 괜찮으세요?
mani maeunde gwaenchaneuseyo?
It's quite spicy. Is that OK?
You say
덜 맵게 해 주세요.
deol maepge hae juseyo
Less spicy, please.
안 맵게 해 주세요.
an maepge hae juseyo
Not spicy at all, please.
6 · Side dishes and water
You say
반찬 좀 더 주세요.
banchan jom deo juseyo
Could we have more side dishes, please?
They may say
반찬은 셀프예요.
banchaneun selpeuyeyo
Side dishes are self-service.
Refills of 반찬 are free. If a sign says 셀프, help yourself at the side-dish bar or water station. More signs like this are in 55 Korean signs you see every day.
7 · Paying and leaving
You say
계산해 주세요.
gyesanhae juseyo
The bill, please.
따로 계산할게요. / 같이 계산할게요.
ttaro gyesanhalgeyo / gachi gyesanhalgeyo
We'll pay separately. / We'll pay together.
And as you leave
잘 먹었습니다!
jal meogeotseumnida!
Thank you for the meal!
In most Korean restaurants you pay at the counter by the door on your way out, so take the bill (or just your table number) with you. Tipping is not expected.
The ending behind 먹고 갈게요 and 계산할게요
Several answers above end in -(으)ㄹ게요. It announces a decision you are making on the spot, in response to the other person: “I'll have it here”, “I'll pay separately”. That makes it the natural ending for replying to staff. It is compared with -(으)ㄹ 거예요 and -겠어요 in Korean future tense.
Make the menu words stick. A visit gives you the phrases; keeping them takes review. In Hanguljo, food and counter words come with native audio and example sentences, the 7-stage SRS schedules each review, the on-device OCR scanner reads a real menu or receipt for you, and the conversation track lets you rehearse ordering out loud with shadowing.
Check yourself: ordering
Pick the most natural option.
1
Two iced americanos, please.
Native numbers shorten before a counter: 둘 → 두 잔.
2
드시고 가세요?
You want it to take away.
포장이요 (or 가져갈게요) means to take away.
3
몇 분이세요?
There are three of you.
Count your own group with native numbers and the plain counter: 세 명이요.
4
You want to call a server over.
저기요! or 여기요! is the normal way to get attention.
5
The tteokbokki is too hot for you. Order the next one milder.
덜 맵게 means less spicy. 연하게 is for weaker coffee or tea.
6
You and a friend want to split the bill.
따로 means separately; 같이 means together.
Order with confidence, then keep the words
Hanguljo takes you from Foundation lessons (Hangul, stroke order, native audio) through the TOPIK 1–6 lessons (vocabulary, grammar and particles) with Hanja roots and memory hooks and a 7-stage SRS engine. Speak in the conversation track with shadowing, train your ear with dictation, learn from any Korean video you paste in, read real Korean with the on-device OCR scanner, and keep practising with home, lock screen and quiz widgets, all in a calm, focused design.
Item + number + counter + 주세요: 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요, 비빔밥 하나 주세요, 삼겹살 2인분 주세요.
Counters
잔 (cups), 개 (things) and 명 (people) take native numbers: 한, 두, 세, 네. 인분 (portions) takes Sino-Korean: 이인분.
Eat in or take away
드시고 가세요? → 먹고 갈게요 / 포장이요 (가져갈게요).
Café requests
샷 추가해 주세요 · 연하게 해 주세요 · 시럽 빼 주세요 · 얼음 조금만 넣어 주세요.
Buzzer
진동벨 울리면 가지러 오세요 = come and collect it when the buzzer goes off.
Restaurant
몇 분이세요? → 두 명이요. Call staff: 여기요! / 저기요!
Spice and sides
덜 맵게 해 주세요 · 반찬 좀 더 주세요 (free) · 물은 셀프예요 (water is self-service).
Paying
계산해 주세요, at the counter: 따로 계산할게요 / 같이 계산할게요. Leaving: 잘 먹었습니다.
Frequently asked questions
How do you order coffee in Korean?
Say the drink, the number with 잔 (cup) and 주세요: 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요 (one iced americano, please). For two, 두 잔. For a hot one, 따뜻한 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
What does 드시고 가세요 mean?
It means 'Are you eating here?' (literally 'will you eat and go?'). Answer 먹고 갈게요 to stay, or 포장이요 or 가져갈게요 to take it away.
Is it rude to shout 여기요 in a Korean restaurant?
No. 여기요! (over here!) and 저기요! (excuse me!) are the normal, polite ways to call staff. Many restaurants also have a call button on the table.
What does 2인분 mean in Korean?
인분 means a portion for one person, so 2인분 is two portions. Korean barbecue and some stews are often sold with a minimum of two portions: 삼겹살 2인분 주세요.
How do you ask for the bill in Korean?
Say 계산해 주세요 (please let me pay). In most Korean restaurants you pay at the counter by the door as you leave, not at the table. Add 따로 계산할게요 to pay separately.