Ordering at a Korean market stall: one piece or one plate?
Find out what one order contains before you buy at a Korean market stall. Use these polite Korean questions to confirm the unit, quantity, price, takeaway and pickup.
Ordering at a Korean market stall: one piece or one plate?
Cover photo: Fish-cake skewers and tteokbokki at Busan's Bupyeong Market. Junho Jung / Korea-Busan-Pupyeong Market-Eomuk and tteokbokgi-01 / CC BY-SA 3.0; changes: 960px derivative, JPEG-converted, uncropped.
At a market food counter, the useful question is not just “Can I have one?” but one of what? A stall may sell an item by the piece, roll, serving, plate, bag or box. Do not assume the same unit applies to the next stall. Point to the food, establish the unit and quantity, ask the price, then decide how and where to collect it. The Korean lines below are adaptable questions, not transcriptions of a particular vendor’s sign.
1. Find out what “one” contains
To ask for a single piece, try “이거 한 개씩도 살 수 있나요?” (Igeo han gaessikdo sal su innayo? — “Can I buy these individually?”). If the food comes as a plate, ask “한 접시에 몇 개예요?” (Han jeopsie myeot gaeyeyo? — “How many pieces are on one plate?”). For a bag, “한 봉지에 얼마나 들어가요?” (Han bongjie eolmana deoreogayo? — “How much is in one bag?”).
Useful unit words include 개 (gae, piece), 줄 (jul, a roll—for example, gimbap), 접시 (jeopsi, plate), 봉지 (bongji, bag) and 인분 (inbun, serving). They help you ask, but are not a promise that any particular stall sells that way. “두 개” (du gae) is two pieces; “두 접시” (du jeopsi) is two plates. If the display is unclear, point and ask “이 양이 한 접시예요?” (I yangi han jeopsiyeyo? — “Is this amount one plate?”).
2. Attach the price to the unit
A number on a sign does not help much if you cannot tell what it buys. Ask “한 개에 얼마예요?” (Han gaee eolmayeyo? — “How much per piece?”) or “한 접시 얼마예요?” (Han jeopsi eolmayeyo? — “How much for a plate?”). If you have selected a mix, “이렇게 담으면 총 얼마예요?” (Ireoke dameumyeon chong eolmayeyo? — “How much is the total for this selection?”) lets you confirm before committing. No sample price can stand in for the amount posted or quoted at the counter.
Asking what the price covers is not the same as bargaining. Do not presume every market invites haggling—or that every stall has a clearly displayed fixed price. Confirm the quantity and total first.
3. Order clearly, then say whether it is to go
Once the unit is settled, “이거 한 접시 주세요” (Igeo han jeopsi juseyo) means “One plate of this, please.” If individual pieces are sold, “이거 두 개 주세요” (Igeo du gae juseyo) asks for two. Point at each item if you are mixing foods; “이거 한 개, 저거 한 개 주세요” (Igeo han gae, jeogeo han gae juseyo) means “One of this and one of that, please.” Listen for the vendor’s confirmation of what is included.
For takeaway, add “포장해 주세요” (Pojanghae juseyo — “Please pack it to go”). To eat nearby, ask “여기서 먹어도 돼요?” (Yeogiseo meogeodo dwaeyo? — “May I eat here?”). Seating and packaging depend on the stall. If you need to reduce the order, say so before preparation: “죄송한데, 하나만 할게요” (Joesonghande, hanaman halgeyo — “Sorry, I’ll just have one.”).
4. Confirm payment and pickup rather than guessing
Some food is handed over immediately; other orders take time. Ask “주문하면 여기서 기다리면 될까요?” (Jumunhamyeon yeogiseo gidarimyeon doelkkayo? — “Should I wait here after ordering?”) or “받으러 어디로 가면 될까요?” (Badeureo eodiro gamyeon doelkkayo? — “Where should I collect it?”). Keep any number slip you are given, and check the food when your number is called.
For payment, “카드 돼요?” (Kadeu dwaeyo? — “Do you take cards?”) is easier than assuming. A little won cash is a useful backup at a stall that cannot take your card. Markets are not universally cash-only, and card acceptance is not universal either. “지금 계산할까요?” (Jigeum gyesanhalggayo? — “Should I pay now?”) resolves whether you pay before or at pickup.
5. A short counter exchange
• You: “이거 한 접시에 몇 개예요?” (Igeo han jeopsie myeot gaeyeyo?) — How many come on a plate?
• Vendor: Tells you the quantity.
• You: “한 접시 얼마예요?” (Han jeopsi eolmayeyo?) — How much is a plate?
• Vendor: Gives the stall’s price.
• You: “그럼 한 접시 포장해 주세요. 카드 돼요?” (Geureom han jeopsi pojanghae juseyo. Kadeu dwaeyo?) — One plate to go, then. Can I pay by card?
• Vendor: Explains payment and collection.
• You: “받으러 여기로 오면 될까요?” (Badeureo yeogiro omyeon doelkkayo?) — Should I come back here to collect it?
If you miss the answer, point to the quantity and say “천천히 한 번만 말씀해 주세요” (Cheoncheonhi han beonman malsseumhae juseyo — “Please say that once more, slowly”). The sequence to remember is item → unit → quantity → price → takeaway and pickup.