🇰🇷 Korean · A2 · Cooking and food
At the market
Vocabulary
- 시장market
- 야채vegetables
- 과일fruit
- 생선fish
- 고기meat
- 얼마예요?How much is it?
- 깎아 주세요Please give a discount
- 신선하다to be fresh
- 한 근에per 600g (근 = unit)
- 봉지bag
- 계산하다to calculate, pay
- 거스름돈change (money)
Counters and Shopping Phrases
In Korean, you can't use numbers directly with nouns — you need a counter word between the number and item.
- 개 (gae) — general counter for objects: 사과 두 개 (two apples)
- 근 (geun) — weight counter (~600g): 돼지고기 한 근 (one geun of pork)
- 봉지 (bongji) — bag/packet: 라면 한 봉지 (one packet of ramen)
- 병 (byeong) — bottle: 물 한 병 (one bottle of water)
- 개 uses native Korean numbers: 하나(1), 둘(2), 셋(3), 넷(4), 다섯(5)
Asking for things politely:
- 이거 주세요 — Please give me this
- 좀 주세요 — Please give me (a little / polite softener)
- 얼마예요? — How much is it?
- 깎아 주세요 — Please give me a discount
Expressions
- 사과 두 개 주세요Asking for two apples at a stall
- 이거 얼마예요?Asking the price of an item
- 좀 깎아 주세요Politely asking for a discount
- 한 봉지에 얼마예요?Asking the price per bag
- 신선해요?Asking if something is fresh
- 조금만 주세요Asking for just a small amount
Common mistakes
사과 둘 주세요사과 두 개 주세요The number alone (둘) cannot stand next to a noun without its counter. You need 두 개 (number + counter).
얼마 있어요?얼마예요?얼마예요? is the standard set phrase for asking price. 얼마 있어요? sounds odd and unnatural at a market.
한 봉지에 얼마 있어요?한 봉지에 얼마예요?Use 얼마예요? not 얼마 있어요? when asking the price of something.
Quick quiz
Question 1 of 5
How do you say “change (money)” in Korean?
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