Korean café
vocabulary.

Your next coffee order, in Korean. Learn 12 useful words and 4 polite phrases, then try a little practice.

Korean, one leaf at a time.

Start with the words.

From the menu to the last sip.

Read the Hangul first if you can. Romanization is a reading aid; it cannot capture every detail of Korean pronunciation.

Drinks and the menu

커피keopi: coffee; The general word for coffee.
아메리카노amerikano: Americano; Use the drink name when you order an Americano.
차cha: tea; Here, 차 means tea. The same spelling can mean car in another context.
메뉴menyu: menu; The list of drinks or food you can order.

Hot or iced?

아이스aiseu: iced; The iced part of 아이스아메리카노. The complete drink name is written together.
따뜻한ttatteutan: warm; hot in a drink order; A form used before a noun. 따뜻한 아메리카노 asks for a hot Americano.

A few useful extras

물mul: water; A useful word for any café visit.
우유uyu: milk; The word for dairy milk; plant-based drinks have their own names.
설탕seoltang: sugar; Use this word when talking about sugar in your drink.
얼음eoreum: ice; The ice itself, such as the cubes in a cold drink.

Small words for ordering

잔jan: counter for cups or glasses; 한 잔 means one cup or glass of a drink.
포장pojang: takeaway; packing; In a café order, this refers to having your drink packed to go.

One cup: 한 잔

Use 한 잔 for one cup or glass of a drink. In the ordering pattern, put it after the drink name: 아메리카노 + 한 잔 + 주세요. 한 is the form of 하나 used before this counter.

아이스 and 얼음 do different jobs

아이스 identifies the iced version of a drink. 아이스 + 아메리카노 becomes 아이스아메리카노, written together as a drink name. 얼음 names the ice itself, such as the cubes in your cup.

A warm word for a hot drink

따뜻한 means warm and goes before a noun. In this café order, 따뜻한 아메리카노 means a hot Americano. Its standard pronunciation is 따뜨탄; the Revised Romanization is ttatteutan.

Finish your request with 주세요

Drink name + 한 잔 주세요 is a polite way to request one cup. In 포장해 주세요, you are asking the staff to pack it to go. 주세요 is part of the request, rather than a word to add to every sentence.

Put your words to work.

Four polite phrases for ordering at a café.

One iced Americano, please.

아이스아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.

Aiseuamerikano han jan juseyo.

아이스 + 아메리카노 becomes the drink name 아이스아메리카노. Add 한 잔 for one cup and 주세요 for a polite request.
One hot Americano, please.

따뜻한 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.

Ttatteutan amerikano han jan juseyo.

Swap 아이스 for 따뜻한 to ask for the hot version.
To go, please.

포장해 주세요.

Pojanghae juseyo.

Use this after choosing your drink to ask for takeaway.
I'll drink it here.

여기서 마실게요.

Yeogiseo masilgeyo.

Use this to tell the staff you plan to stay and drink in the café.

A little recall.

Five questions. Take your time, and try without looking back.

This is a little practice on the web. Your score stays on this page and resets when you reload.

Language references

Original explanations checked against these Korean language references.

NIKL: Romanization of KoreanRevised Romanization conventions, aspiration, liaison, and spelling of the romanized forms.
Korean Basic Dictionary: 따뜻하다Meaning of 따뜻하다 and standard pronunciation of 따뜻한 as 따뜨탄.
Korean Basic Dictionary: 얼음Meaning of 얼음 and standard pronunciation 어름, giving eoreum.
Korean Basic Dictionary: 잔잔 as a cup/glass and a counter for drinks.
NIKL: spacing of café drink namesJoined spelling 아이스아메리카노 for the complete drink name; a plus sign is used only to show its learning components.
Korean Basic Dictionary: -세요The polite request ending used in 주세요.
Korean Basic Dictionary: -ㄹ게The speaker-intention ending in 마실게요; the café phrase adds polite 요.
Korean Basic Dictionary: 주다Give/request meaning and the auxiliary used for an action done for someone else.
Collins Korean-English Dictionary: 포장하다The core verb sense pack/wrap. The café takeaway phrase and its explanation are original contextual examples.

Start with the words.

Drinks and the menu

Hot or iced?

A few useful extras

Small words for ordering

Put your words to work.

One iced Americano, please.

One hot Americano, please.

To go, please.

I'll drink it here.

A little recall.