🛍️ Shopping for Souvenirs? Master This Essential Korean Phrase!
Annyeonghaseyo, everyone! Are you ready for some stress-free shopping on your trip to Korea? Today's lesson is one of the most useful phrases you can learn: how to ask for the price of something! Let's dive in and make your shopping experience a breeze!
1. The Situation: Shopping at a Market
Imagine you're walking through a vibrant Korean market, and you spot a beautiful souvenir you want to buy. You pick it up and want to ask the seller how much it costs. This dialogue will help you do just that!
2. The Main Dialogue
A: 이거 얼마예요?
A: How much is this?
B: 만원이에요.
B: It's 10,000 won.
A: 이거 두 개 살게요.
A: I'll buy two of these.
B: 네, 감사합니다.
B: Yes, thank you.
3. Key Vocabulary
- 이거 (i-geo): This thing. A super handy pronoun to refer to something you are pointing at or holding.
- 얼마 (eol-ma): How much. This word is the star of our lesson!
- 만원 (man-won): 10,000 won. Korea's currency is the won (원). A 만 (man) is 10,000, so 만원 is 10,000 won.
- 두 개 (du gae): Two items. 두 (du) means two, and 개 (gae) is a common counter for objects.
- 사다 (sa-da): To buy. We use the verb stem 사- plus -ㄹ게요 (-l-ge-yo) to express an intention or plan to do something.
4. Key Expressions & Application Sentences
- 얼마예요? (eol-ma-ye-yo?): "How much is it?" This is the perfect phrase to use when you want to know the price of a single item.
저 모자 얼마예요?
How much is that hat? - 이거 주세요. (i-geo ju-se-yo): "Please give me this." A great way to say you want to buy something without having to say "I'll buy this."
이거 맛있어요. 이거 주세요.
This is delicious. I'll take this, please.
5. Today's Point: The polite ending -요 (-yo)
You may have noticed that all the phrases end with -요 (-yo). This is a crucial particle that makes your speech polite and respectful, suitable for talking to strangers, elders, or people in a professional setting like a shopkeeper. Without it, the phrases would sound casual or even a bit rude. Always remember to add -요 to be polite!
6. Application Dialogue
A: 이거 얼마예요?
A: How much is this?
B: 오천원이에요.
B: It's 5,000 won.
A: 네, 이거 주세요.
A: Okay, I'll take this, please.
That's it for today! Practice these simple phrases, and you'll be shopping like a pro in no time. See you in the next lesson!