8 Korean phrases for ordering street food at a 포장마차 or 떡볶이 stall
A Korean street cart does not hand you a menu. You walk up, see what is in the pan, and say what you want, and the whole exchange is four or five short sentences. That makes street food one of the easiest places to use spoken Korean for the first time, as long as you have those sentences ready.
These eight phrases are in polite 요 speech, which is what you use with any vendor regardless of age, and they follow the order of a real visit: ordering, asking the price, adjusting the spice, getting the free broth, and paying. Every one ends in 주세요 or 요, so your intonation can do the rest.
-
떡볶이 일 인분 주세요.
tteokbokki il inbun juseyo.
One serving of tteokbokki, please.
Literally: Tteokbokki one person-portion give.
인분 counts portions by the number of people they feed, so 이 인분 (two servings) is the usual order for two. Tteokbokki, 순대 (blood sausage) and 튀김 (fried things) are all sold by the 인분.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
이거 얼마예요?
igeo eolmayeyo?
How much is this?
Literally: This how much is?
Point as you say it. Street prices are often on a handwritten sign, but tempura and skewers are priced by the piece, and 이거 saves you naming something you cannot pronounce yet.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
하나만 주세요.
hanaman juseyo.
Just one, please.
Literally: Only one give.
For things sold singly: 호떡 (sweet filled pancake), 붕어빵 (fish-shaped pastry), 계란빵 (egg bread), a skewer. The 만 (only) tells the vendor you are not going to order more, which they appreciate when there is a queue.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
안 맵게 해 주세요.
an maepge hae juseyo.
Not spicy, please.
Literally: Not spicily do give.
Possible at a tteokbokki stall only if they cook to order; many pans are already red. 덜 맵게 (less spicy) is the realistic ask, and the vendor may still smile and warn you.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
어묵 국물 좀 주세요.
eomuk gungmul jom juseyo.
Some fish cake broth, please.
Literally: Fish cake soup a little give.
The broth the skewers sit in is free, served in a paper cup, and the whole point of winter street food. 좀 (a little) is the softener that makes a request sound polite rather than demanding.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
포장해 주세요.
pojanghae juseyo.
To go, please.
Literally: Wrap it up give.
포장 here is 'packaging'. The 포장 in 포장마차 is a different word meaning a tent cover, so the name is 'covered cart', not 'takeaway cart', though both fit.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
하나 더 주세요.
hana deo juseyo.
One more, please.
Literally: One more give.
Used while standing at the cart, usually with a skewer still in your hand. Vendors count what you ate at the end, often by the sticks left in your cup, so keep them.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase → -
카드 돼요?
kadeu dwaeyo?
Do you take card?
Literally: Card works?
Many carts do now, but some are cash or bank transfer only (계좌 이체). Ask before you eat rather than after, and have a few thousand won on you for the ones that say 아니요.
Ask Ipsae about this phrase →
Nearly everything here is built on 주세요 (please give), and you can swap the noun in front of it for anything in the pan. One thing to remember: at a stall you eat and then pay, so when you are done, catch the vendor's eye and say 계산할게요 (gyesanhalgeyo), 'I'll pay now'.