How to Order Food in Korean, From 여기요 to 계산해 주세요

Ordering in a Korean restaurant takes surprisingly little Korean. Almost every request is built from one verb, 주다, and the most important word is the one you use to get a server's attention. This guide covers the whole meal, from calling the staff to paying, and checks each key word against the National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL) and its Standard Korean Dictionary.

1. Getting a server's attention: 여기요 and 저기요

When you are ready to order and need a server to come over, the two words to know are:

• 여기요 [yeogiyo] literally "Here, please"
• 저기요 [jeogiyo] literally "Over there, please," used like "Excuse me"

The NIKL addressed this directly in an Online Ganada answer, quoting its own guide to address terms, 우리, 뭐라고 부를까요? ("What Should We Call Each Other?"). It says 여기요 and 저기요 are already in universal use for calling staff at restaurants, hair salons, and shops. It explains why they work well: they do not directly express the social relationship between staff and customer, so both sides find them comfortable.

The same guide explains what to avoid. Customers used to call staff 젊은이 (young person), 총각 (young man), or 아가씨 (young woman), which the NIKL says can look like an attempt to show an age gap or a customer's social power. Calling a server 아줌마 can also make the person feel looked down on. The guide notes these habits are gradually improving as public awareness rises. If you know a staff member's name, the guide says calling them by name plus 씨 is also possible.

For a visitor, the simple rule is: use 여기요 or 저기요.

2. The one verb you need: 주다

The Standard Korean Dictionary's first definition of 주다 is to hand something to someone so they can have or enjoy it. Its polite request form, 주세요 [juseyo], "please give me," turns any noun into an order:

• 비빔밥 주세요. [bibimbap juseyo] "Bibimbap, please."
• 이거 주세요. [igeo juseyo] "This one, please," while pointing at the menu.
• 물 주세요. [mul juseyo] "Water, please."

To order more than one of something, put the number before 주세요, for example 비빔밥 두 개 주세요, "Two bibimbaps, please."

3. Asking staff to do something: -아/어 주세요

주다 has a second life as a helper verb. The dictionary lists it as an auxiliary verb in the pattern -아/어 주다, meaning the action affects someone else or is done for someone else. In a restaurant, that turns any action verb into a polite request for the staff to do it for you:

• 포장해 주세요. [pojanghae juseyo] "Please pack it up," for takeout.
• 계산해 주세요. [gyesanhae juseyo] "Please let me pay," or "The bill, please."

The words inside these phrases come straight from the dictionary:

• 포장 means wrapping or packing an item, or the cloth or paper used to do it. Asking for 포장 is asking to have your food packed to take with you.
• 계산 has several senses. The first is counting or calculating, but the third is simply "paying a price." That is the sense in 계산해 주세요.

4. More side dishes: 반찬

The Standard Korean Dictionary defines 반찬 [banchan] as an umbrella term for the foods eaten alongside rice. When a side dish runs out and you would like more, you can ask:

• 반찬 더 주세요. [banchan deo juseyo] "More side dishes, please."
• 이거 더 주세요. [igeo deo juseyo] "More of this, please," while pointing at the empty dish.

더 [deo], "more," slots in right before 주세요.

5. A full restaurant exchange

Here is how the pieces fit together in order:

1. Sit down, and when you are ready: 저기요!
2. Point and order: 이거 하나 주세요. "One of these, please."
3. Ask for water: 물 주세요.
4. When a side dish runs out: 반찬 더 주세요.
5. If you cannot finish: 포장해 주세요.
6. When you are done: 계산해 주세요.

If a server repeats your order back to you, a simple 네 [ne], "yes," confirms it.

6. Why these phrases are safe to use anywhere

Every request here ends in 주세요, a polite form, so you can use it with staff of any age. And because 여기요 and 저기요 avoid labeling anyone by age or gender, they sidestep the awkwardness the NIKL describes with older terms like 아줌마 and 아가씨.

7. Key takeaways

• Call staff with 여기요 or 저기요, which the NIKL says are in universal use and comfortable for both sides.
• Avoid 아줌마, 아가씨, and 총각 for staff, since they can sound condescending.
• Order anything with [item] 주세요; add 더 for "more."
• -아/어 주세요 asks staff to do something for you: 포장해 주세요 for takeout, 계산해 주세요 to pay.
• 반찬 means the side dishes served with rice.