A cafe is the best place to say your first Korean sentence out loud. The exchange is short, the vocabulary is small, and the outcome is a coffee either way.
The part that catches people out is not the ordering. It is the two questions the staff ask afterwards, at speed, when you were not expecting to say anything else.
The sentence that does most of the work
~ 주세요 — please give me ~
Put anything in front of it and you have a complete, polite order.
- 아메리카노 주세요. — An americano, please.
- 아이스 라떼 주세요. — An iced latte, please.
- 두 개 주세요. — Two, please.
If you learn one Korean sentence pattern before your first trip, make it this one. It works in cafes, restaurants, shops, and taxis.
Hot or iced comes first
Korean puts it before the drink name, not after.
- 아이스 아메리카노 — iced americano
- 따뜻한 아메리카노 — hot americano
In practice, most people just say 아이스 or 핫. 아아 is common slang for 아이스 아메리카노 and you will hear it constantly.
If you are not sure whether iced is available: 아이스 있어요? — do you have iced?
The two questions you will be asked
This is where first-timers freeze. Both come fast and both need only a short answer.
드시고 가세요? — Are you eating in? Sometimes 매장에서 드세요?
- 여기서 먹을게요. — I'll have it here.
- 포장할게요. — I'll take it away.
- 테이크아웃이요. — Takeout. (Konglish, extremely common)
적립하세요? or 포인트 있으세요? — Do you have a points card?
- 아니요, 괜찮아요. — No, it's fine.
That second question surprises almost everyone. It is just loyalty points. 괜찮아요 ends it politely.
Sizes
Independent cafes usually offer 레귤러 (regular) and 라지 (large). Chains use their own English size names, and Koreans say them in Korean pronunciation — 톨, 그란데.
If no size is mentioned, you get the standard one. You do not have to specify.
Paying
- 카드로 할게요. — I'll pay by card.
- 현금으로 할게요. — I'll pay in cash.
- 얼마예요? — How much is it?
Card is close to universal. Many cafes no longer take cash at all.
Putting it together
You: 아이스 아메리카노 주세요. Staff: 드시고 가세요? You: 여기서 먹을게요. Staff: 적립하세요? You: 아니요, 괜찮아요. Staff: 오천 원입니다. You: 카드로 할게요.
Six lines. Three of them are yours and none is longer than four words.
Two mistakes worth avoiding
Saying 감사합니다 too early. Koreans usually thank the staff when receiving the drink, not when ordering. Ordering ends with 주세요 and nothing else.
Over-politeness. 주세요 is already polite. Adding 부탁드립니다 or a longer honorific form sounds oddly formal for a coffee.
Menu words worth knowing
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 아메리카노 | americano |
| 카페라떼 | latte |
| 바닐라라떼 | vanilla latte |
| 달고나 라떼 | dalgona latte |
| 녹차 | green tea |
| 유자차 | citron tea |
| 케이크 | cake |
See it happen
Episode 1 of K-PATTO is set in exactly this scene. Emma walks into a cafe for the first time and orders in Korean:
저기요, 이거 뭐예요? — Excuse me, what is this? 아이스 있어요? — Do you have iced? 그럼 아이스 달고나 라떼 주세요. — Then an iced dalgona latte, please.
Every line has audio, so you can hear the rhythm before you try it yourself. The first ten episodes are free at K-PATTO.