How to Order Coffee in Korean: A Short Café Conversation

Order an iced americano or a hot latte in Korean with 주세요, answer the size question, and say whether you are staying or taking it with you.

Start with drink + 한 잔 + 주세요

아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요. (aiseu amerikano han jan juseyo) means “An iced americano, please.” The pattern is the drink, the amount, and 주세요, which works like “please give me.” 잔 is the counter for cups, so 한 잔 means “one cup.”

For a hot drink, add 따뜻한 (ttatteutan), “warm” or “hot”: 따뜻한 라테 한 잔 주세요. — “A hot latte, please.” Many Korean café menus already split drinks into 아이스 (iced) and 핫 (hot), so reading the menu name aloud is often the clearest choice.

In quick speech you will also hear 아메리카노 하나 주세요, with 하나 (“one”) instead of 한 잔. Both are natural.

Answer the follow-up questions

Staff may ask 사이즈는 어떻게 해 드릴까요? — “What size would you like?” You can answer 톨 사이즈로 주세요 (“A tall, please”) or 제일 작은 걸로 주세요 (“The smallest one, please”). Size names depend on the chain, so use the words printed on the menu.

Another common question is 드시고 가세요? — “Are you having it here?” Answer 네, 여기서 마실게요 (“Yes, I'll drink it here”) or 아니요, 가져갈게요 (“No, I'll take it with me”). Some cafés also say 테이크아웃 for “to go.”

A small order from start to finish

A: 어서 오세요. 뭐 드릴까요?
“Welcome. What can I get you?”

B: 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요.
“An iced americano, please.”

A: 사이즈는 어떻게 해 드릴까요?
“What size would you like?”

B: 제일 작은 걸로 주세요.
“The smallest one, please.”

A: 드시고 가세요?
“Are you having it here?”

B: 아니요, 가져갈게요.
“No, I'll take it with me.”

Which politeness level fits a café

주세요 is in the polite 해요체 style, which fits almost every café. The more formal 주십시오 sounds stiff at a counter, and casual 줘 is for close friends, not staff.

Staff use honorific verbs such as 드릴까요 and 드시고 because they are being respectful to you. Do not copy those verbs about yourself. Saying “제가 드실게요” honors yourself and sounds odd; use 마실게요 or 먹을게요 instead.

Common mistakes with numbers

Cups are counted with native Korean numbers: 한 잔, 두 잔, 세 잔. Avoid 일 잔 or 이 잔, which use the Sino-Korean numbers. Also, 아메리카노 is pronounced with Korean syllables, roughly a-me-ri-ka-no, without a strong English r.

Practice your order out loud

Pick a drink and say the full order three times: once iced, once hot, and once with 두 잔. Then have someone ask 사이즈는 어떻게 해 드릴까요? and 드시고 가세요? and answer without restarting your order.

If staff offer a bag or a receipt you don't need, learn how to say “no, thank you” in Korean.

Explore Saystep for Korean speaking practice with feedback. You can also practice this article's dialogue independently, without using an app.