16 Useful Korean Phrases You Should Know

No matter where you are in your Korean-language studies, a few key phrases can help you communicate and find your way around. Here, Paradise Valley, AZ Korean teacher Hannah V. shares 16 useful Korean phrases…

By now, you know how to say basic Korean phrases like “hello” and “thank you.” When you travel to Korea, however, whether to visit or to live, you will need to know a lot more than that.

Here are some basic, useful Korean phrases you should know.

*Note: The following phrases are all in the polite Korean form.

1. ___ 있어요?

“Do you have?”

This literally means, “is there ____?”, but it sounds more like “do you have ___ ?” in English.

This is a very useful phrase when you’re looking for a specific item in a store. You can use this question if you’re unsure if the store has the item, otherwise, you can just ask them to get it for you.

For example, if you would like to buy apples but don’t see any, you could say “사과 있어요?” (Do you have apples?).

The vendor will tell you yes or no by saying “네, 있어요” (yes, I have) or “아니요, 없어요” (No, I don’t have).

By the way, in Korea, there are a lot of street vendors who sell fruit. Fruit is usually more expensive in Korea than it is in the United States.

2. ___주세요

“Please  get me ___. “
Use this  at a store or restaurant to ask for a specific item. If you’re in a store and you’re sure they have the item, you can just say  “___주세요.”

For example, you see apples at a fruit vendor and you’d like to buy them. You can say “사과 주세요” (please get me apples).

You can also indicate the number of items you would like: “사과 한개 (두개 or 세개) 주세요” (Please get me one (two or three) apple(s)).

This phrase will also help you purchase tickets: “표 한개 주세요” (please get me one ticket). Usually, the noun doesn’t change regardless of if it’s singular or plural. Also, notice that the number comes after the noun in the sentence.

Try using this phrase at a restaurant. If you know the name of the food, you can say something like “김밥 주세요.” This translates literally to “Please get me Kim-bob,” but it’s more like saying “I’ll have Kim-bob.”

If you don’t know the names of the food, use the menu to ask for what you want. Point to the item on the menu and say “이거 주세요” (I’ll have this).

3. 저기요

“Excuse me”

Use this phrase to get someone’s attention, usually a stranger.

Unlike “excuse me” in English, this phrase doesn’t indicate an apology.

With acquaintances and friends, just use names, you don’t need to preface your question by saying “Excuse me.”

4. 이거  얼마예요?

“How much is this?”

If you know the name of an item, you can use the name instead of 이거 (this).

For example, at the grocery store you’d like to know the price of the cherries. You can say “체리 얼마예요?” (How much are the cherries?)

Notice again that the noun doesn’t change from singular to plural. The verb will also remain the same regardless of the number of items you’re asking about.

5. (이거) ___ 가요?

“Is this going to ___?”
When I was visiting Japan for two weeks, there were many occasions where I wanted to confirm that the subway or bus was going to my desired destination. For peace of mind and to avoid taking the wrong ride, this is the question to ask.

Want to go to Seoul Station by bus? Ask the bus driver: “서울역 가요?” (Going to Seoul Station?) If you’re waiting at the bus stop before the bus arrives, you can ask someone nearby: 이거 서울역 가요? (Is this (bus) going to Seoul Station?)

By adding 이거, you indicate that the question pertains to this particular bus.
If you want to take a taxi, you add이요. (___, please). You can tell the taxi driver, “서울역이요” (Seoul Station, please).

As in English, it’s more polite to add 이요 (please) after the name of the location.

6. 아저씨

This is just like saying “Mr.” in English.

7.  아줌마

“Mrs.”

Be careful not to call an unmarried and relatively young looking woman, 아줌마 , as she will likely be offended.

8. 아가씨