You're holding a jacket in a Hongdae shop. The clerk says something friendly. You smile, nod, and put the jacket back — because the question about the price never made it out of your mouth. Shopping in Korean is really about five phrases, and this beginner-friendly guide hands you all five.
How do you ask how much something costs in Korean?
Say 이거 얼마예요? (igeo eolmayeyo) — literally "this, how much is it?" Point at the thing, say the line, wait. It works in a market stall, a department store, and a convenience store, with nothing to conjugate and no verb for "to cost" to worry about.
Everything else in a Korean shop hangs off that sentence. Below is the full set, in the order a real visit actually goes: greeting, browsing, asking, trying, paying.
| What you want to say | Korean | Romanization | When you need it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I'm just looking | 그냥 구경할게요 | geunyang gugyeonghalgeyo | The clerk greets you and you want room to browse |
| How much is this? | 이거 얼마예요? | igeo eolmayeyo | Anywhere, any item, any price range |
| Do you have another color? | 다른 색 있어요? | dareun saek isseoyo | Clothes, bags, phone cases |
| Do you have a bigger size? | 더 큰 사이즈 있어요? | deo keun saijeu isseoyo | Swap 큰 for 작은 (jageun) to go smaller |
| Can I try it on? | 입어 봐도 돼요? | ibeo bwado dwaeyo | Clothes — shoes use 신어 봐도 돼요? |
| This is too expensive | 너무 비싸요 | neomu bissayo | Markets only — see the mistakes table |
| Could you knock it down a bit? | 좀 깎아 주세요 | jom kkakka juseyo | Traditional markets, ideally buying two |
| I'll take this one | 이거 주세요 | igeo juseyo | The closing line for absolutely everything |
| Can I pay by card? | 카드 돼요? | kadeu dwaeyo | The answer is almost always yes |
| Receipt, please | 영수증 주세요 | yeongsujeung juseyo | You'll need it to return anything |
Hear the phrases from a native speaker
Notice the three pointing words doing quiet work here: 이거 (this, near you), 그거 (that, near them), 저거 (that one over there, away from both of you). Reach for 저거 and the clerk turns to look across the room; say 이거 and they look at your hand. Our guide to Korean demonstratives unpacks the whole grid.
Prices: reading Korean won out loud
Money uses Sino-Korean numbers only — 일, 이, 삼, 사 — never 하나, 둘, 셋. And Korean counts in units of 만 (10,000), not thousands, so a price your brain files as "forty-nine thousand" comes out of a clerk's mouth as 사만 구천.
| Price | Korean | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000원 | 천 원 | cheon won | Just 천 — never 일천 |
| 3,200원 | 삼천이백 원 | samcheon ibaek won | A typical convenience-store total |
| 5,000원 | 오천 원 | ocheon won | Street-food range |
| 10,000원 | 만 원 | man won | Not 일만 원 — the 일 drops here too |
| 15,000원 | 만 오천 원 | man ocheon won | Market souvenir range |
| 39,200원 | 삼만 구천이백 원 | samman gucheon ibaek won | What 49,000 becomes after 20% off |
| 49,000원 | 사만 구천 원 | saman gucheon won | A mid-range jacket |
| 100,000원 | 십만 원 | simman won | Read as 십 (ten) + 만, not as "hundred thousand" |
That 만 habit is the single hardest part of shopping in Korean for English speakers, and it is pure practice — nothing tricky, just an unfamiliar grouping. The full Korean numbers guide drills both systems, and the money reference chart lists prices you can read down like a menu.
Sizes, colors, and trying things on
Most Korean shops label clothes S, M, L — the English letters, read aloud as 에스, 엠, 엘. You will also meet numbers: 90, 95, 100 on tops (roughly chest measurement), and 55, 66, 77 in some women's stores. Sizes here run small, so try before you commit.
One thing that catches people off guard: in smaller boutiques, especially in areas like Dongdaemun, some items genuinely cannot be tried on. If the answer to 입어 봐도 돼요? is a wince and 죄송해요, that is the reason — not you.
Bargaining has a border, and it is sharp. At Namdaemun, Gwangjang, or a street stall, 좀 깎아 주세요 (jom kkakka juseyo) is normal and often works if you are buying two of something. At Olive Young, a department store, or any chain, the same line lands as a small social thud. Prices there are fixed and everyone knows it.
Common mistakes when shopping in Korean
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 일만 원 | 만 원 | Korean drops the 일 in front of 만 when the number stands alone. 10,000 won is 만 원, and 100,000 is 십만 원. The 일 comes back only inside a longer number. |
| 둘천 원 | 이천 원 | Prices run on Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼). The native set — 하나, 둘, 셋 — counts objects and hours, never money. |
| 얼마야? | 얼마예요? | 얼마야 is the casual form you would use with a close friend. Aimed at a shop clerk it sounds blunt, almost like snapping. Keep the 예요 ending with strangers. |
| 신발을 입어 봐도 돼요? | 신발을 신어 봐도 돼요? | English has one verb for putting anything on. Korean picks by body part: 입다 for clothes, 신다 for shoes and socks, 쓰다 for hats and glasses. |
| 이거 얼마예요? (pointing across the shop) | 저거 얼마예요? | 이거 means the thing right by you. For an item on a far shelf you want 저거 — otherwise the clerk looks at your hands and finds nothing there. |
| 싸요! (meaning "too pricey") | 비싸요! | They are one syllable apart and mean opposites. 싸다 is cheap, 비싸다 is expensive. Complain with 싸요 and you have just paid the seller a compliment. |
That last row is the one nobody makes twice. Say 너무 싸요 with a pained face at a market stall and the vendor hears "wow, what a bargain" — so they beam, wrap it, and hand it over before you can explain. One syllable, whole different afternoon.
Shopping in Korean — Quick Check
1. A sweater costs 30,000 won. How does the clerk say that price?
2. The jacket is too small. What do you ask for?
3. Where does 좀 깎아 주세요 actually belong?
So the whole of shopping in Korean fits in one small stack: 이거 얼마예요? to ask, 다른 색 / 더 큰 사이즈 있어요? to adjust, 이거 주세요 to commit, and 카드 돼요? to finish. Read prices in 만, and keep 비싸요 straight from 싸요.
Now try it out loud. Pick anything on your desk, point at it, and say 이거 얼마예요? three times until the rhythm stops feeling foreign — that one sentence carries a whole afternoon in Myeongdong. Then drill the rest of shopping in Korean with native audio for every word in this unit.
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