Journal
Your First Order at a Korean Café: From Counter to Payment
Read practical ordering, counter questions, and payment phrases in the order you will meet them.
Learning goal
Order a drink · Use Korean counters · Make a polite request
At your first Korean café, the drink name may not be the difficult part. It can be the short question that comes after you order. This article lets you read that sequence calmly before you need it.
Haniverse Korean Team · Updated September 1, 2026
In this lesson
What you will take away
- 01 Order a drink
- 02 Use Korean counters
- 03 Make a polite request
Key phrase
아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
In Korean, place the quantity and 주세요 after the item you want. Drinks are commonly counted with 잔, meaning a cup or glass.
Start an order with 주세요
At your first Korean café, the drink name may not be the difficult part. It can be the short question that comes after you order. This article lets you read that sequence calmly before you need it.
주세요 is a useful first expression at a café. Add it after the item you want for a short, polite order. Add 한 잔 or 두 잔 when you want to name the number of drinks.
Pattern
~ 주세요
아메리카노 주세요.
An americano, please.
아이스 라테 한 잔 주세요.
One iced latte, please.
두 개 주세요.
Two, please.
Say the temperature before the drink
In Korean, 아이스 or 따뜻한 usually comes before the drink name. Saying the temperature first helps the staff follow your order easily.
아이스 아메리카노
iced americano
따뜻한 아메리카노
hot americano
아이스 있어요?
Do you have an iced version?
A short question may follow
The staff may ask whether you will have your drink here or take it away, or whether you use the membership programme. A few short answers are enough.
여기서 먹을게요.
I’ll have it here.
포장할게요.
I’ll take it away.
아니요, 괜찮아요.
No, that’s okay.
Paying is simple
At payment, say the method you want to use. You can also ask the price if you did not catch it.
카드로 할게요.
I’ll pay by card.
현금으로 할게요.
I’ll pay in cash.
얼마예요?
How much is it?
Read the full counter exchange
Read the conversation once from top to bottom. The same order of turns is useful in many cafés.
아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
드시고 가세요?
여기서 먹을게요.
적립하세요?
아니요, 괜찮아요.
오천 원입니다.
카드로 할게요.
Two things to remember
주세요 alone is already polite. You do not need to add a longer request every time.
감사합니다 is not required at the beginning or end of an order. It sounds natural when you receive your drink or someone has helped you.
Words you may see on the menu
Learn six common café menu items and practice ordering them in Korean.
아메리카노
americano
아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
One Americano, please.
카페라테
caffè latte
카페라테 한 잔 주세요.
One café latte, please.
바닐라라테
vanilla latte
바닐라라테 주세요.
A vanilla latte, please.
녹차
green tea
따뜻한 녹차 주세요.
A hot green tea, please.
유자차
citron tea
유자차 한 잔 주세요.
One citron tea, please.
케이크
cake
케이크 하나 주세요.
One cake, please.
Culture tip
At Korean cafés, it sounds natural to say the menu item and quantity together. 아메리카노 하나 주세요 is understood, but 한 잔 주세요 is more specific.
Common mistake
Say 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요 rather than 하나 아메리카노 주세요. Korean places the item before its quantity.
Mini quiz
1. How would you order two lattes?
Related practice
Practice this expression
Continue with an interactive lesson and practice the expression you just read in a real-life context.
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