Day 12: Food and 주세요
One ending today does more work than anything else you will learn this month.
주세요 means please give me, and it attaches to both nouns and verbs: 물 주세요 (water, please) · 다시 말해 주세요 (please say it again).
★ With 주세요 and a noun you can get almost anything in Korea. Point, name it, add 주세요. That is a complete, polite, native sentence.
1. ★★ 주세요
With a noun — "please give me ~"
| 물 주세요. | Water, please |
|---|---|
| 김치 주세요. | Kimchi, please |
| 이거 주세요. | ★ This one, please (pointing) |
| 커피 두 잔 주세요. | Two coffees, please (Day 8's counters) |
| 메뉴 주세요. | The menu, please |
| 영수증 주세요. | The receipt, please |
★ 이거 주세요 is the single most valuable sentence in this course. Point at a menu, a shelf, a photo — 이거 주세요 — and you have ordered it. It works everywhere, it is polite, and it needs no vocabulary at all.
(이거 = this · 그거 = that · 저거 = that over there)
With a verb — "please do ~ for me"
Take the 해요 form, drop the 요, add 주세요:
| Verb | 해요 form | + 주세요 |
|---|---|---|
| 말하다 (say) | 말해요 | 말해 주세요 |
| 도와주다 (help) | — | 도와주세요 |
| 기다리다 (wait) | 기다려요 | 기다려 주세요 |
| 보여주다 (show) | — | 보여주세요 |
다시 말해 주세요. — Please say that again. (you have used this since Day 2)천천히 말해 주세요. — Please speak slowly.잠깐만 기다려 주세요. — Please wait a moment.도와주세요! — Help!
★ This is why the ending is worth a whole section. 주세요 turns any verb into a polite request, and any noun into a polite order. One pattern, two jobs, used constantly.
⚠️ 주세요 is a request, not a command — it is what you say to staff, strangers and friends alike. There is nothing brusque about it.
2. Food
| 밥 | rice, a meal | 김치 | kimchi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 불고기 | bulgogi | 비빔밥 | bibimbap | |
| 김밥 | gimbap | 떡볶이 | tteokbokki | |
| 삼겹살 | pork belly | 냉면 | cold noodles | |
| 찌개 | stew | 국 | soup | |
| 라면 | instant noodles | 치킨 | fried chicken | |
| 고기 | meat | 생선 | fish | |
| 야채 / 채소 | vegetables | 과일 | fruit | |
| 빵 | bread | 계란 | egg |
Drinks — 음료수
물 (water) · 커피 · 차 · 주스 · 맥주 (beer) · 소주 · 우유
How it tastes
| 맛있어요 | it's delicious |
|---|---|
| 맛없어요 | it's not good |
| ★ 매워요 | it's spicy |
| 짜요 | it's salty |
| 달아요 | it's sweet |
| 배불러요 | I'm full |
| 배고파요 | I'm hungry |
★ 매워요 is the one to have ready. Korean food is spicier than most visitors expect, and the useful question is:
안 매운 거 있어요? — Do you have something not spicy?조금 맵게 해 주세요. — Please make it a little less spicy.
3. ★ How a Korean restaurant actually works
① You call the staff
저기요! or 여기요! — (Day 3). Nobody will come over on their own. Calling out is the system, not rudeness. Many places have a buzzer on the table instead — press it.
② 반찬 are free, and refillable
The small side dishes that arrive unasked — kimchi, beansprouts, pickled radish — are included in the price and you can ask for more:
★ 반찬 더 주세요. — More side dishes, please. (더 = more)
You do not pay for them, and asking for a refill is completely normal.
③ Water is usually free and self-serve
Look for a water dispenser and a stack of steel cups near the entrance. 물 주세요 works too, and it will be free.
④ Food is shared
Stews and grilled meat arrive in the middle and everyone eats from the same dish. Ordering "one each" is often not how it works — 삼겹살 이 인분 주세요 (two portions) feeds two people from one grill.
(인분 = portions-for-people, and it uses Sino numbers: 일 인분, 이 인분, 삼 인분.)
⑤ ★ 잘 먹겠습니다 / 잘 먹었습니다
| Literally | When | |
|---|---|---|
| ★ 잘 먹겠습니다 | "I will eat well" | before eating |
| ★ 잘 먹었습니다 | "I ate well" | after eating |
★ English has no equivalent and Korean uses them constantly — especially when someone else is paying, which is the point. 잘 먹었습니다 to whoever bought your meal is expected.
⑥ ★ One person pays
Splitting the bill is far less common than in the West. The older person, or whoever invited, usually pays the whole thing.
| 제가 낼게요. | I'll pay |
|---|---|
| 제가 살게요. | It's on me |
| 다음에 제가 살게요. | ★ I'll get it next time — the standard graceful reply |
| 나눠서 낼까요? | Shall we split it? (possible, just less common) |
4. Paying and leaving
| 계산해 주세요. | The bill, please |
|---|---|
| 얼마예요? | How much is it? |
| 카드 돼요? | Can I pay by card? |
| 포장해 주세요. | To take away, please |
| 잘 먹었습니다! | Thank you for the meal (said as you leave) |
⚠️ In many places you pay at the counter on the way out, not at the table. And there is no tipping in Korea — none, anywhere. Leaving money on the table will confuse people.
5. Dialogue
Alex: 저기요!직원: 네, 주문하시겠어요?Alex: 비빔밥 하나하고 김치찌개 하나 주세요.직원: 네. 음료수는요?Alex: 물 주세요. 아, 이거 매워요?직원: 네, 조금 매워요.Alex: 안 매운 거 있어요?직원: 비빔밥은 안 매워요.Alex: 아, 네. 그럼 그대로 주세요.(음식이 나온다)Alex: 잘 먹겠습니다! … 반찬 더 주세요.직원: 네, 잠시만요.Alex: 맛있어요! 계산해 주세요. 카드 돼요?직원: 네, 됩니다. 감사합니다.Alex: 잘 먹었습니다!
★ 주세요 appears five times — with a dish, with water, with 반찬, with 계산해, and with "그대로". That one ending carried the entire meal.And note 저기요! opening it and 잘 먹었습니다! closing it — the two bookends of every Korean meal.
6. Exercises
A. Order it with 주세요.
- Water 2. Kimchi 3. This one 4. Two coffees 5. The menu 6. The bill
B. ★ Verb + 주세요.
- Please say it again. 2. Please speak slowly. 3. Please wait a moment. 4. Help!
C. What do you say?
- Calling a waiter. 2. Asking for more side dishes. 3. Asking if it's spicy.
- Asking for something not spicy. 5. Before eating. 6. After eating.
D. Translate.
- It's delicious. 2. It's too spicy. 3. I'm full. 4. Can I pay by card?
- To take away, please. 6. I'll pay.
E. ⚠️ True or false?
- 반찬 costs extra. 2. You should tip 10%. 3. You call staff over yourself.
- Splitting the bill is the norm. 5. 인분 uses native numbers.
F. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- 물 주세요를.
- 다시 말하다 주세요.
- (leaving a restaurant) 잘 먹겠습니다!
- 삼겹살 두 인분 주세요.
- (leaving a tip) 여기 있어요, 팁이에요.
Answers
A. 1. 물 주세요. 2. 김치 주세요. 3. 이거 주세요. 4. 커피 두 잔 주세요. 5. 메뉴 주세요. 6. 계산해 주세요. B. 1. 다시 말해 주세요. 2. 천천히 말해 주세요. 3. 잠깐만 기다려 주세요. 4. 도와주세요! C. 1. 저기요! 2. 반찬 더 주세요. 3. 이거 매워요? 4. 안 매운 거 있어요? 5. 잘 먹겠습니다. 6. 잘 먹었습니다. D. 1. 맛있어요. 2. 너무 매워요. 3. 배불러요. 4. 카드 돼요? 5. 포장해 주세요. 6. 제가 낼게요. E. 1. False — free and refillable 2. False — no tipping in Korea 3. True 4. False — one person usually pays 5. False — Sino (이 인분) F. 1. 물 주세요 — nothing after the verb 2. 말해 주세요 — use the 해요 stem 3. 잘 먹었습니다 — past, on leaving 4. 이 인분 — Sino numbers 5. No tipping — just 감사합니다
7. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
- 저기요! — Excuse me! (calling staff)
- 이거 주세요. — This one, please
- 물 주세요. — Water, please
- 반찬 더 주세요. — More side dishes, please
- 이거 매워요? — Is this spicy?
- 안 매운 거 있어요? — Do you have something not spicy?
- 맛있어요! — It's delicious!
- 계산해 주세요. — The bill, please
- 잘 먹겠습니다. — (before eating)
- 잘 먹었습니다. — (after eating)
8. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload section 1 (주세요), section 3 (how a restaurant works) and section 7 → study language Korean.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | The dialogue — restaurant Korean is fast and formulaic, so ear-familiarity is most of it |
| ✍️ Dictation | 주세요 endings, and prices — Day 8's 만 in the wild |
| 🗣 Shadowing | The whole dialogue, both roles |
| 🎭 Role-play | Today's key mission. Order a full meal, ask for 반찬, ask about spice, pay. Three times |
| 📖 Vocab | Food nouns, and 주세요 phrases as whole units |
★ Order out loud at home tonight. Point at ten things in your kitchen and say 이거 주세요 — then name them. Three minutes, and it drills the ending, the counters and the vocabulary at once.
Tomorrow: 좋아하다 vs 좋다 — two verbs meaning "like", with different particles, and the sentence that has both a topic and a subject.
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