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Ordering food

Day 11 of 90~10 minOrder in a restaurant and ask for the bill
Romanisation help

Today is the restaurant: getting a menu, ordering a dish and saying how many, asking for water without sounding abrupt, and leaving with the bill paid or the food boxed up. Almost all of it runs on one word, 주세요 (juseyo), which you met on day 6. By the end you can get through a whole meal out.

Asking for the menu and a dish

Everything you order is a noun followed by 주세요:

menyu juseyo
The menu, please.
메뉴 is the English word, borrowed. In many places the menu is on the wall or already on the table, so you need this less than you might think.
igeo juseyo
This one, please.
Point at the menu or the picture. 이거 is the 'this, near me' from day 4, and it spares you reading the dish name.
bibimbap hana juseyo
One bibimbap, please.
The native number from day 9 comes after the dish. 하나 stands on its own here, with no counter.
gimchijjigae du gae juseyo
Two kimchi stews, please.
With a counter, 둘 shortens to 두, as on day 9. 개 is the general counter and is fine for dishes; 김치찌개 둘 주세요 is also normal.
Why it works

Korean names the thing first and counts it second, so the order is 'bibimbap one, please', not 'one bibimbap, please'. English does the same on an invoice or a shopping list ('apples, 3'), and that is the right picture to keep in mind: item, then quantity. 주세요 comes from 주다, 'to give', in a polite request form, so the whole sentence is literally 'bibimbap one, give'. There is no word for 'me' because it is obvious who wants the food.

Softening with 좀

좀 goes just before 주세요 and takes the edge off a request:

mul jom juseyo
Could I have some water, please?
Without 좀 it is correct but brisk. 물 is the water from day 7's 물 있어요?.
yeogiyo, mul jom juseyo
Excuse me, some water, please.
여기요 from day 6 gets the server's attention first. In a busy place you call out; nobody expects you to wait to catch an eye.
gimchi jom deo juseyo
Could I have a bit more kimchi?
더 means 'more'. Side dishes are refilled free in most restaurants, so this is an ordinary request, not a favour.
hyuji jom juseyo
Some tissues, please.
Napkins in Korea are usually a box of tissues on the table or a roll on the wall. If there are none, this is how you ask.
Why it works

좀 is a shortening of 조금, 'a little'. Put into a request, it makes the thing you want sound smaller, which is exactly what English does with 'just' or 'a bit': 'could I just have some water'. It has become so automatic that it softens requests where the amount makes no sense, such as 좀 천천히 말해 주세요, day 6's 'please speak slowly' with a little cushioning added. A bare 주세요 is not rude, but a string of them sounds like a list of orders, so when in doubt, add 좀.

Takeaway and the bill

The last things you say before you leave:

pojanghae juseyo
Can I have it to take away?
포장 means 'wrapping'. Say it when you order, or at the end for leftovers, which is normal and not thought mean.
gyesanhae juseyo
Can I pay, please?
계산 means 'calculation'. You usually say it at the counter by the door rather than at the table.
gyesanhalgeyo
I'll pay now.
Recognise this one for now; you will hear other diners say it at the till. The ending that makes it comes on day 45.
eolmayeyo?
How much is it?
Day 10's question. The answer comes in 원, read with the Sino numbers from day 8.
Why it works

Here 주세요 follows a verb instead of a noun. 포장해 and 계산해 are forms of 포장하다 'to wrap' and 계산하다 'to calculate', and adding 주세요 turns 'please give me it' into 'please do this for me'. It is the same pattern as 천천히 말해 주세요 on day 6. So 주세요 has two jobs: after a thing, 'give me'; after an action, 'do it for me'. You will learn to build those verb forms yourself on day 26, so for now take these as whole phrases.

gamsahamnida.
Thank you.
keopi han jan
a cup of coffee
kadeu dwaeyo?
Can I pay by card?
mul isseoyo?
Is there any water? / Do you have water?

📋 Today’s words 12

menyu juseyo
The menu, please.
igeo juseyo
This one, please.
bibimbap hana juseyo
One bibimbap, please.
gimchijjigae du gae juseyo
Two kimchi stews, please.
mul jom juseyo
Could I have some water, please?
yeogiyo, mul jom juseyo
Excuse me, some water, please.
gimchi jom deo juseyo
Could I have a bit more kimchi?
hyuji jom juseyo
Some tissues, please.
pojanghae juseyo
Can I have it to take away?
gyesanhae juseyo
Can I pay, please?
gyesanhalgeyo
I'll pay now.
eolmayeyo?
How much is it?

Check yourself

8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.

🖌 Writing practice optional