Reading & Audio

Ordering Food at a Restaurant

Read and listen to a short Korean text about ordering food at a restaurant using simple requests, suggestions, and past tense.

Beginner A2 Teacher audio 7-9 min Food & Dining

Lesson Info

Level
Beginner A2
Topic
Restaurant, ordering food, eating out
Focus
-(으)ㄹ까요, -(으)ㅂ시다, -아/어 주세요, -고, -아/어서, -지만, -고 싶어요
Audio
Recorded by your teacher

Listen First

Listen to the audio first. Then read the Korean text below. Try to listen for familiar words like 식당, 메뉴, 비빔밥, and 주세요.

Reading & Audio
Ordering Food at a Restaurant
0:53
 

Korean Reading Text

어제 저녁에 저는 친구와 한국 식당에 갔어요.
식당에 사람이 많아서 조금 기다렸어요.
자리에 앉은 후에 메뉴를 봤어요.
저는 친구에게 “뭘 먹을까요?”라고 물었어요.
친구는 “비빔밥을 먹어 봅시다.”라고 말했어요.
저는 직원에게 “비빔밥 하나하고 김치찌개 하나 주세요.”라고 말했어요.
음식이 조금 매웠지만 정말 맛있었어요.
식사 후에 우리는 계산을 하고 밖에 나왔어요.
다음에 이 식당에 또 오고 싶어요.

Vocabulary

Korean English
어제 저녁yesterday evening
친구friend
한국 식당Korean restaurant
사람person, people
자리seat, place
메뉴menu
what
비빔밥bibimbap
김치찌개kimchi stew
직원staff member, employee
음식food
식사meal
계산payment, bill
outside
다음next time
기다리다to wait
앉다to sit
보다to see, to look at
묻다to ask
말하다to say, to speak
맵다to be spicy
맛있다to be delicious
나오다to come out

Sentence Notes

1. 어제 저녁에 저는 친구와 한국 식당에 갔어요.

어제 저녁에 = yesterday evening
저는 = I / topic
친구와 = with a friend
한국 식당에 갔어요 = went to a Korean restaurant
This sentence means: Yesterday evening, I went to a Korean restaurant with a friend.

-았/었어요 is used to talk about the past.

2. 식당에 사람이 많아서 조금 기다렸어요.

식당에 = at the restaurant
사람이 많아서 = because there were many people
조금 기다렸어요 = waited a little
This sentence means: There were many people at the restaurant, so we waited a little.

-아/어서 can show a reason or natural connection between two ideas.

3. 자리에 앉은 후에 메뉴를 봤어요.

자리에 앉은 후에 = after sitting down
메뉴를 = menu / object
봤어요 = looked at
This sentence means: After sitting down, I looked at the menu.

-(으)ㄴ 후에 means “after doing something.”

4. 저는 친구에게 “뭘 먹을까요?”라고 물었어요.

저는 = I / topic
친구에게 = to my friend
뭘 먹을까요? = What shall we eat?
물었어요 = asked
This sentence means: I asked my friend, “What shall we eat?”

-(으)ㄹ까요? can be used to suggest something or ask for an idea.

5. 친구는 “비빔밥을 먹어 봅시다.”라고 말했어요.

친구는 = my friend / topic
비빔밥을 = bibimbap / object
먹어 봅시다 = let’s try eating
말했어요 = said
This sentence means: My friend said, “Let’s try bibimbap.”

-아/어 보다 means “to try doing something.” -(으)ㅂ시다 means “let’s.”

6. 저는 직원에게 “비빔밥 하나하고 김치찌개 하나 주세요.”라고 말했어요.

직원에게 = to the staff member
비빔밥 하나하고 김치찌개 하나 = one bibimbap and one kimchi stew
주세요 = please give me
This sentence means: I said to the staff member, “One bibimbap and one kimchi stew, please.”

주세요 is a useful expression when ordering or asking for something politely.

7. 음식이 조금 매웠지만 정말 맛있었어요.

음식이 = the food / subject
조금 매웠지만 = was a little spicy, but
정말 맛있었어요 = was really delicious
This sentence means: The food was a little spicy, but it was really delicious.

-지만 means “but” and connects two contrasting ideas.

8. 다음에 이 식당에 또 오고 싶어요.

다음에 = next time
이 식당에 = to this restaurant
= again
오고 싶어요 = want to come
This sentence means: I want to come to this restaurant again next time.

-고 싶어요 is used to say “I want to do something.”

English Translation

Yesterday evening, I went to a Korean restaurant with a friend.
There were many people at the restaurant, so we waited a little.
After sitting down, I looked at the menu.
I asked my friend, “What shall we eat?”
My friend said, “Let’s try bibimbap.”
I said to the staff member, “One bibimbap and one kimchi stew, please.”
The food was a little spicy, but it was really delicious.
After the meal, we paid and went outside.
I want to come to this restaurant again next time.

Practice Questions

Try answering these questions in Korean. You can find all the answers in the reading text above.

  1. 저는 어제 저녁에 누구와 식당에 갔어요?
  2. 왜 조금 기다렸어요?
  3. 자리에 앉은 후에 무엇을 봤어요?
  4. 저는 친구에게 무엇을 물었어요?
  5. 친구는 무엇을 먹어 보자고 했어요?
  6. 저는 직원에게 무엇을 주문했어요?
  7. 음식은 어땠어요?
  8. 저는 다음에 어디에 또 오고 싶어요?