You can read Hangul, you can conjugate 먹어요, and you know which number system clock tells which hour. Time to use all of it. Survival Korean is less about new grammar than about one workhorse pattern — noun + 주세요 — plus the polite -요 endings Part 3 gave you. Master those and a cafe becomes a full conversation.
The master pattern: 주세요#
주세요 literally means "please give me." Glue any noun in front and you're asking for it:
물 주세요 — water, please 커피 주세요 — coffee, please 이거 주세요 — this one, please (pointing) 계산서 주세요 — the check, please
Add numbers and counters from Part 4 and you order perfectly:
커피 두 잔 주세요 — two cups of coffee, please 만두 여섯 개 주세요 — six dumplings, please (a real street-market sentence)
Greetings that open every interaction#
| Situation | Korean |
|---|---|
| Any hello | 안녕하세요 |
| How are you? | 어떻게 지내세요? |
| Nice to meet you | 만나서 반가워요 |
| Goodbye (to host/staying) | 안녕히 계세요 |
| Goodbye (leaving) | 안녕히 가세요 |
| Thank you | 감사합니다 / 고마워요 |
| Sorry / excuse me | 죄송합니다 / 실례합니다 |
Note 안녕히 가세요 vs 안녕히 계세요 — the verb changes based on who stays (계세요 = stay) vs who leaves (가세요 = go). A tiny politeness reflex Koreans notice.
Ordering food: the restaurant script#
메뉴 주세요 — menu, please 뭐가 맛있어요? — what's delicious? (recommendation) 이거 주세요 — I'll take this 안 매운 거 있어요? — is there something not spicy? 너무 매워요! — it's too spicy! (the classic follow-up) 한국에서 처음 먹어요. — I'm eating this for the first time in Korea.
After the meal: 계산해 주세요 (please check me out). The verb 계산하다 + 해 주세요 is the same pattern — "please [do] it."
Shopping: price and sizes#
얼마예요? — how much is it? (the single most useful shopping sentence) 이거 얼마예요? — how much is this? 비싸요. (It's expensive.) / 싸요. (It's cheap.) 조금 비싸요. (A little pricey.) 사이즈 있어요? — do you have my size? 더 큰 사이즈 있어요? — a bigger size?
카드 되나요? — can I pay by card?
Price answers use Sino numbers: 오천 원이에요. So in a shop your ears should flip to Sino mode — the exact split from Part 4.
Directions: finding your way#
화장실 어디예요? — where is the bathroom? 역이 어디예요? — where is the subway station? 오른쪽이에요 / 왼쪽이에요 — it's to the right / left 직진이에요 — go straight 얼마나 걸려요? — how long does it take? 지하철로 가요. — I'll go by subway.
Combine with the place particle 에서 from Part 2:
여기에서 내려요. — get off here 지하철 2호선을 타요. — take subway line 2
Politeness reflex cheat-sheet#
Everything above ends in one of three things you now fully own:
| Ending | Used in |
|---|---|
| -세요 | polite requests & commands: 주세요, 계산해 주세요 |
| -아요/-어요 | statements: 비싸요, 맛있어요, 걸려요 |
| 이에요/예요 | "it is": 얼마예요, 어디예요 |
If you can identify which of those an ending is, you're not reciting — you're building survival Korean on demand.
Mini-scenario: a cafe visit, end to end#
안녕하세요. 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요. — Hello. One Americano, please. (Server) 여기 있어요. (Here you go.) 감사합니다. 여기서 마셔요. (Thank you. I'll drink it here.) (Later) 계산해 주세요. (Check, please.) 얼마예요? (How much?) — 오천오백 원이에요. (5,500 won.) 카드 되나요? (Card OK?) — 네. (Yes.) — 감사합니다. 안녕히 계세요.
That exchange uses everything: greetings, 주세요, counters, numbers, politeness, and the -요 system. If you can follow every line, survival Korean is effectively done.
Common beginner slips#
| Slip | Fix |
|---|---|
| "커피 하나 주세요" fine, but 하나→한 before counter | 커피 한 잔 주세요 |
| Forgetting polite form to a stranger | All requests: -세요 / 주세요 |
| "얼마요?" missing the copula | 얼마예요? |
| Mixing go/stay farewell | Leaving: 가세요; you stay: 계세요 |
| Eager "매워요" instead of understanding host | Understand first: 뭐가 매워요? |
Take it further#
These phrases feed a travel-sized phrasebook, but the same pieces build open-ended Korean — Part 8: connecting sentences will let you say "I came early because the subway was fast" instead of three separate sentences. And every item above stays polite because of the endings from Part 3.
