Basic Korean Phrases for Travelers

You do not need fluent Korean to travel well in Korea, but a few polite phrases can make restaurants, taxis, markets, hotels, and small mistakes much easier. The most useful Korean travel phrases are short, respectful, and repeatable: hello, thank you, excuse me, please give me this, how much is it, and I am sorry.

This guide gives you the Korean phrases visitors actually use in Korea, with simple pronunciation help and real situations where each phrase works.

Quick Answer

Learn these first: annyeonghaseyo for hello, gamsahamnida for thank you, jwesonghamnida for sorry or excuse me, igeo juseyo for this please, eolmayeyo? for how much is it, and yeong-eo ganeunghaseyo? for do you speak English?

The 10 Korean Phrases To Learn First

Start with phrases that solve common visitor friction. You will use them more than long textbook sentences.

Situation	Korean	Pronunciation	Meaning
Greeting	안녕하세요	annyeonghaseyo	Hello
Thanks	감사합니다	gamsahamnida	Thank you
Sorry / excuse me	죄송합니다	jwesonghamnida	I am sorry
Getting attention	저기요	jeogiyo	Excuse me
Ordering	이거 주세요	igeo juseyo	This, please
Price	얼마예요?	eolmayeyo?	How much is it?
Yes	네	ne	Yes
No	아니요	aniyo	No
English	영어 가능하세요?	yeong-eo ganeunghaseyo?	Do you speak English?
Help	도와주세요	dowajuseyo	Please help me

If you can only memorize three, choose annyeonghaseyo, gamsahamnida, and jwesonghamnida. They soften almost every interaction.

Greetings and Courtesy

Korea is a polite-service culture, so short formal phrases work better than casual ones, and pairing the right words with the right greetings in Korea makes a strong first impression. Use annyeonghaseyo when entering a small shop, meeting a host, greeting a guide, or speaking to hotel staff.

Use gamsahamnida when someone serves food, gives directions, opens a door, checks you in, or helps with a machine. A small nod makes it feel natural.

Use jwesonghamnida when you bump into someone, need to pass through a crowded subway car, interrupt staff, or make a small mistake.

Avoid very casual expressions like annyeong with strangers. It is friendly among peers and friends, but it can sound too casual with staff or older people.

Restaurants and Cafes

Menus in tourist areas often have photos, English, or ordering kiosks. Korean phrases still help when pointing, confirming, or asking for basics.

Useful restaurant phrases:

• Igeo juseyo: This, please.
• Mul juseyo: Water, please.
• Menu juseyo: Menu, please.
• Hana juseyo: One, please.
• Du gae juseyo: Two, please.
• Maeun geo aniyo?: Is it not spicy?
• Pojanghae juseyo: Please pack it to go.
• Gyesanhalgeyo: I would like to pay.

In many Korean restaurants, you pay at the counter after eating. In cafes, you usually order and pay first.

Taxis and Directions

Korean taxi drivers may understand major hotel names and famous attractions, but addresses in Korean are much easier. Prepare the address on your phone.

Helpful taxi phrases:

• Yeogi gajuseyo: Please go here.
• I juso-ro gajuseyo: Please go to this address.
• Yeogi sewojuseyo: Please stop here.
• Jihacheol yeok eodi-yeyo?: Where is the subway station?
• Hwajangsil eodi-yeyo?: Where is the restroom?

If pronunciation feels difficult, show the Korean text instead. A screenshot of the destination in Naver Map or KakaoMap is often enough, and knowing basic public transport etiquette in Korea helps just as much as the phrases themselves once you are on the subway or bus.

Shopping and Payment

Markets, small shops, pharmacies, and beauty stores are easier with a few short expressions.

Useful shopping phrases:

• Eolmayeyo?: How much is it?
• Kadeu dwaeyo?: Can I pay by card?
• Yeongeumsujeung juseyo: Receipt, please.
• Bongtu juseyo: Bag, please.
• Keun saijeu isseoyo?: Do you have a bigger size?
• Jageun saijeu isseoyo?: Do you have a smaller size?

Korea uses cards widely, but small market stalls may prefer cash. Keep some Korean won for street food and traditional markets.

Emergencies and Help

For emergencies in Korea, call 112 for police and 119 for fire or medical emergencies. The Korea Tourism Organization also operates the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline for travel information and interpretation help.

Emergency phrases:

• Dowajuseyo: Please help me.
• Gyeongchal bulleojuseyo: Please call the police.
• Byeongwon-e gajuseyo: Please take me to a hospital.
• Yageuk eodi-yeyo?: Where is a pharmacy?
• Yeong-eo tongyeok piryohaeyo: I need English interpretation.

Save emergency numbers before you need them. In a real emergency, use the number first and language second.

Pronunciation Tips

You do not need perfect pronunciation. Korean listeners can often understand if the phrase is short and the context is clear.

Use these habits:

• Speak slowly.
• Keep phrases short.
• Point or show your phone when needed.
• Use formal endings like -yo or -mnida with strangers.
• Do not worry about sounding local.

Your goal is not to impress people. It is to communicate respectfully and reduce confusion.

FAQ

Numbers, Counting, and Reading Prices

Korean actually uses two number systems, and knowing which one applies saves confusion at markets, restaurants, and when booking tickets. Sino-Korean numbers (il, i, sam, sa, o…) are used for money, phone numbers, addresses, and dates. Native Korean numbers (hana, dul, set, net…) are used for counting people, age, and items such as “two coffees” or “three people.” A traveller who mixes them up is still understood, but learning both patterns speeds up ordering.

• Hana, dul, set, net, daseot: one, two, three, four, five (for counting items or people).
• Il, i, sam, sa, o: one, two, three, four, five (for money and numbers).
• Myeong: counter word for people, as in “du myeong” (two people) when asking for a table.
• Man: ten thousand — the base unit of Korean pricing, so 10,000 won is “man won” and 50,000 won is “oman won.”

Understanding “man” matters because Korean price tags and receipts are usually written in digits, but staff may say prices aloud using this ten-thousand-based system rather than counting by thousands the way English speakers do. A meal listed at ₩12,000 (as of 2026 — prices can change, so check the menu on arrival) might be spoken as “man icheon won.” If a cashier says a number and you are unsure, it is completely acceptable to point at the card reader or hold up your phone calculator instead of guessing.

For travellers choosing between memorising numbers versus relying on a translation app: memorising “du myeong” for table requests or “hana juseyo” for ordering one item is faster than opening an app every time, and it is the phrase locals hear most often from tourists, so staff recognise it instantly. Save the translation app for longer or unpredictable exchanges, such as asking about ingredients or directions, where a wrong guess could cause a real problem.

A local tip not commonly listed in phrasebooks: convenience store and market vendors often show the price on a small calculator screen if you look uncertain, rather than repeating the number aloud in Korean. Making eye contact and gesturing toward the register is a normal, polite way to confirm a price without needing to understand the spoken number at all.

Explore more Korea Go Now guides

• Ordering With Limited Korean
• How To Apologize Politely
• Korean Restaurant Basics