Shopping
Ask about prices, sizes, and colors when shopping in Korea.
Korean shopping involves a few specific cultural patterns. At smaller stores and markets, you can negotiate prices by asking 깎아 주세요 (please give me a discount), though this is increasingly less common in modern fixed-price retail. At larger department stores and chains, prices are fixed. The key vocabulary: 사이즈 (size), 색깔 (colour), 입어 봐도 돼요? (can I try it on?), 더 큰 거 (a bigger one), 더 작은 거 (a smaller one).
A pattern worth noting: 이거 (this), 저거 (that, far), 그거 (that, near you or already mentioned) are essential for shopping because you'll point to items constantly. The polite version 이게 / 저게 / 그게 is used when these words function as the subject of a sentence ('this is what I want' = 이게 좋아요). Practice the pointing-plus-particle pattern with the 이거 family until it's automatic — you'll use it in every shopping interaction.
~아/어 보다 — Try doing
Verb stem + 아/어 보다 means 'to try doing something'. 먹다 → 먹어 보다 (try eating), 가다 → 가 보다 (try going). Add 도 돼요? to ask permission: 먹어 봐도 돼요? (May I try it?)
~(으)로 — By means of / With
Noun + (으)로 indicates means or method. Consonant ending → 으로, vowel ending → 로, ㄹ ending → 로. Used for payment method, direction, choice.
Cultural & Language Note
Haggling survives in traditional markets like Namdaemun but has no place in department stores or franchise shops, where prices are fixed and asking will only create awkwardness. 깎아 주세요 is the standard phrase where bargaining is expected. Reading which kind of shop you are in is part of shopping competence in Korea.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
아/어 보다 means 'try doing' in the sense of attempting, not 'try on' as a separate verb — 입어 보다 works because 입다 is 'to wear'. Learners sometimes use it for tasting food where Koreans would simply say 먹어 보세요, which is correct, but then overextend it to contexts where a plain imperative is more natural.