Day 18: Shopping
A practical day, and one genuinely useful pattern: adjective + 거 — "a big one", "a cheaper one", "a different one". 큰 거, 싼 거, 다른 거.
With that plus 있어요 and 주세요, you can shop for anything without knowing the word for it.
1. Prices
| 얼마예요? | How much is it? |
|---|---|
| 이거 얼마예요? | How much is this? |
| 비싸요. | It's expensive |
| 너무 비싸요. | It's too expensive |
| 싸요. | It's cheap |
| 좀 깎아 주세요. | ★ Could you give me a discount? |
⚠️ 깎아 주세요 works at traditional markets and street stalls — not in shops, department stores or convenience stores, where prices are fixed and asking will just be awkward. Namdaemun and Dongdaemun: yes. Olive Young: no.
2. ★★ Adjective + 거 — "a ~ one"
### Take an adjective, put it in front of 거, and you have a noun.
| Adjective | + 거 | |
|---|---|---|
| 크다 (big) | 큰 거 | a big one |
| 작다 (small) | 작은 거 | a small one |
| 싸다 (cheap) | 싼 거 | a cheap one |
| 비싸다 (expensive) | 비싼 거 | an expensive one |
| 다르다 (different) | 다른 거 | ★ a different one |
| 좋다 (good) | 좋은 거 | a good one |
| 맵다 (spicy) | 매운 거 | a spicy one (Day 12!) |
★ The pattern: vowel stem → -ㄴ 거 · batchim stem → -은 거. Same batchim logic as everything else this month.
더 큰 거 있어요? — Do you have a bigger one?더 싼 거 있어요? — Do you have a cheaper one?다른 거 주세요. — A different one, please.안 매운 거 있어요? — Do you have one that isn't spicy? (Day 12 §2, now explained)
★ This is the sentence that lets you shop without vocabulary. Point at anything, then 더 큰 거 있어요? — no need to know the word for the object at all.
(더 = more. 거 is the casual form of 것, "thing".)
3. Colours and sizes
| 빨간색 | red | 파란색 | blue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 검은색 | black | 흰색 | white | |
| 노란색 | yellow | 초록색 | green | |
| 회색 | grey | 갈색 | brown |
(색 = colour. 무슨 색이에요? — what colour is it?)
검은색 있어요? — Do you have it in black?다른 색 있어요? — Do you have another colour?
| 사이즈 | size |
|---|---|
| 더 큰 사이즈 있어요? | Do you have a bigger size? |
| 이거 입어 봐도 돼요? | ★ Can I try this on? |
| 신어 봐도 돼요? | Can I try these on? (shoes) |
★ -아/어 봐도 돼요? = "may I try ~ing?" — 입어 봐도 돼요, 먹어 봐도 돼요, 써 봐도 돼요. (Day 20 covers -아/어도 돼요 properly; today, learn 입어 봐도 돼요 whole.)
4. In the shop
| What they say | |
|---|---|
| 어서 오세요! | Welcome! (every shop, every time) |
| 찾으시는 거 있으세요? | Are you looking for something? |
| 천천히 구경하세요. | Take your time looking around |
| 도와드릴까요? | Can I help you? |
| What you say | |
|---|---|
| ★ 그냥 볼게요. | I'm just looking |
| 이거 있어요? | Do you have this? |
| 이걸로 주세요. | ★ I'll take this one |
| 봉투 주세요. | A bag, please |
| 환불돼요? | Can I get a refund? |
| 교환돼요? | Can I exchange it? |
★ 그냥 볼게요 is the phrase to have ready. Korean shop staff greet and often follow you; 그냥 볼게요 is the polite, completely normal way to say you are browsing, and it is not a brush-off.
⚠️ 봉투 costs money — a few hundred won, by law. 네, 주세요 or 아니요, 괜찮아요.
5. Dialogue
직원: 어서 오세요! 찾으시는 거 있으세요?Alex: 아니요, 그냥 볼게요.(잠시 후)Alex: 저기요, 이거 얼마예요?직원: 삼만 오천 원이에요.Alex: 다른 색 있어요? 검은색이요.직원: 네, 있어요. 여기요.Alex: 이거 입어 봐도 돼요?직원: 그럼요. 저쪽에 있어요.(입어 본 후)Alex: 좀 작아요. 더 큰 거 있어요?직원: 네, 라지 사이즈 있어요.Alex: 좋아요. 이걸로 주세요. 카드 돼요?직원: 네. 봉투 필요하세요?Alex: 네, 주세요. 감사합니다!
★ The whole transaction ran on four patterns: 얼마예요 · 다른 색 있어요 · 더 큰 거 있어요 · 이걸로 주세요. Alex never once said the word for the item.
6. Exercises
A. ★ Make it "a ~ one".
- big 2. small 3. cheap 4. different 5. good 6. not spicy
B. Ask for it.
- Do you have a bigger one?
- Do you have a cheaper one?
- Do you have another colour?
- Do you have it in black?
C. What do you say?
- You're just looking. 2. How much is this? 3. Can I try this on?
- I'll take this one. 5. A bag, please. 6. It's too expensive.
D. Colours.
- red 2. blue 3. black 4. white 5. What colour is it?
E. ⚠️ Where can you say 깎아 주세요?
- a traditional market 2. a department store 3. a street stall 4. a convenience store
F. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- 큰 것 있어요 더?
- 이거 입어 돼요?
- 검은색이 있어요? (asking a shop)
- (in a convenience store) 좀 깎아 주세요.
Answers
A. 1. 큰 거 2. 작은 거 3. 싼 거 4. 다른 거 5. 좋은 거 6. 안 매운 거 B. 1. 더 큰 거 있어요? 2. 더 싼 거 있어요? 3. 다른 색 있어요? 4. 검은색 있어요? C. 1. 그냥 볼게요. 2. 이거 얼마예요? 3. 이거 입어 봐도 돼요? 4. 이걸로 주세요. 5. 봉투 주세요. 6. 너무 비싸요. D. 1. 빨간색 2. 파란색 3. 검은색 4. 흰색 5. 무슨 색이에요? E. 1 and 3 only — fixed-price shops, no F. 1. 더 큰 거 있어요? — nothing after the verb 2. 입어 봐도 돼요? 3. 검은색 있어요? — 있다 with a bare noun is fine here 4. Don't — prices are fixed
7. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
- 이거 얼마예요? — How much is this?
- 너무 비싸요. — It's too expensive
- 그냥 볼게요. — I'm just looking
- 더 큰 거 있어요? — Do you have a bigger one?
- 더 싼 거 있어요? — Do you have a cheaper one?
- 다른 색 있어요? — Do you have another colour?
- 이거 입어 봐도 돼요? — Can I try this on?
- 이걸로 주세요. — I'll take this one
- 봉투 주세요. — A bag, please
- 좀 깎아 주세요. — Could you knock a bit off? (markets only)
8. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload section 2 (adjective + 거) and section 7 → study language Korean.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | The dialogue — shop Korean is formulaic, so ear-familiarity is most of it |
| ✍️ Dictation | Prices — 만 and the Sino numbers under pressure |
| 🗣 Shadowing | The whole dialogue, both roles |
| 🎭 Role-play | Today's key mission. Buy something: browse, ask the price, ask for another colour and size, pay |
| 📖 Vocab | ★ Enter adjective + 거 as pairs — 큰 거 / 작은 거, 싼 거 / 비싼 거 |
★ Point at ten things at home and ask for a different one. 더 큰 거 있어요? 다른 색 있어요? — three minutes, and it drills the pattern that lets you shop without vocabulary.
Tomorrow: -고 싶어요 and -(으)ㄹ 수 있어요 — want and can, the two endings that let you say what you actually intend.
langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.