At a Restaurant
Order food, read menus, and pay at a Korean restaurant.
Ordering at a Korean restaurant is one of the most rewarding early-stage practical skills. The basic flow: enter and the staff says 어서 오세요 (welcome). You take a seat and look at the menu. To order, you point at the menu or say the dish name and add 주세요 (please give me): 김치찌개 주세요. For two of something, you add a number + counter: 김밥 두 개 주세요.
Almost all Korean restaurants give you free side dishes (반찬) that refill automatically. You do not need to ask for them. Common useful phrases: 매워요? (is it spicy?), 안 매운 거 있어요? (do you have non-spicy options?), 물 좀 주세요 (some water please), 계산해 주세요 (please add up the bill, said as you leave). The 'please add up the bill' phrase replaces the English 'check please' — Korean restaurants typically have you bring the bill to the counter rather than paying at the table.
~아/어 주세요 — Polite Request
Verb stem + 아/어 주세요 means 'please do ~ for me'. Same vowel rule: ㅏ/ㅗ → 아 주세요, others → 어 주세요, 하다 → 해 주세요.
~(으)ㄹ게요 — I will / I'll (promise/intention)
Verb stem + (으)ㄹ게요 expresses your intention or promise. Consonant stem → 을게요, vowel stem → ㄹ게요. Only used for 1st person (I/we).
Cultural & Language Note
Korean restaurant culture assumes sharing. Dishes arrive in the middle of the table, side dishes are free and refillable on request, and ordering is often done for the whole table rather than individually. 인분 counts servings, so 삼겹살 이 인분 orders enough pork for two — you are ordering a quantity of food, not a personal plate.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Calling a server with 저기요 is normal and not rude in Korea, but learners often hesitate and end up waiting indefinitely. The grammar trap is 아/어 주세요, which follows the same vowel rule as 아/어요: 주다 becomes 주세요, but 하다 becomes 해 주세요, not 하 주세요.