Korean for Beginners: Asking for a Fork, Knife, Spoon, Napkin, or Straw
Learn to ask for dining tools in Korean using the polite pattern '… 주시겠어요?' so you can request a fork, knife, spoon, napkin, or straw at any table.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
When you eat out or visit someone's home in Korea, you often need a specific tool rather than more food. This lesson teaches you one reliable polite pattern for asking for a fork, knife, spoon, napkin, or straw. You will learn the five core nouns, how to put them into the request pattern '… 주시겠어요?', and how to respond if the server says they do not have one. The focus stays on tools, not dishes, so you can solve the small table problems that come up in real meals.
By the end, you can…
- name a fork, knife, spoon, napkin, and straw in Korean.
- politely ask for any of these items using one request pattern.
- understand a short reply and ask for an alternative if an item is unavailable.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
포크 주시겠어요?
Can I have a fork?
po-keu ju-si-ge-sseo-yo
Polite and natural in restaurants, cafés, and most homes. Use this when you need a fork for pasta, salad, or cake.
나이프 주시겠어요?
Can I have a knife?
na-i-peu ju-si-ge-sseo-yo
Use for a table knife. In many Korean meals the spoon and chopsticks are enough, so a knife is requested mainly for Western dishes or when cutting meat.
숟가락 주시겠어요?
Can I have a spoon?
sut-ga-rak ju-si-ge-sseo-yo
Very common because Korean meals often include soup or rice. If you already have chopsticks but no spoon, this is the line to use.
냅킨 주시겠어요?
Can I have a napkin?
naep-kin ju-si-ge-sseo-yo
Use for a paper napkin or tissue at the table. In casual settings you may also hear 휴지 (hyu-ji) for tissue, but 냅킨 is clear in restaurants.
빨대 주시겠어요?
Can I have a straw?
ppal-dae ju-si-ge-sseo-yo
Use at cafés, fast-food places, and convenience stores. Many Korean cafés keep straws near the counter, so you may be told to take one yourself.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern is [item] + 주시겠어요? (ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?). 주시겠어요? is a polite request form meaning 'Would you give me…?' or 'Could I have…?'. You can attach it to any of the five nouns: 포크 주시겠어요? (po-keu ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?), 숟가락 주시겠어요? (sut-ga-rak ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?), 냅킨 주시겠어요? (naep-kin ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?). You do not need a word for 'a' or 'the'. The noun stays the same whether you want one or several, so the pattern is easy to reuse.
When to use it
Use this pattern when you are seated and need a tool that is missing from the table. It is polite enough for restaurants, cafés, and most homes. If you are standing at a counter, you can also say 포크 있어요? (po-keu i-sseo-yo?), meaning 'Do you have a fork?', but 주시겠어요? is safer when you are asking someone to bring something to you. If the answer is 없어요 (eop-seo-yo), 'we don't have it', you can ask for a different item with the same pattern, for example 젓가락 주시겠어요? (jeot-ga-rak ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?), 'Can I have chopsticks?'
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
저기요, 포크 주시겠어요?
Excuse me, can I have a fork?jeo-gi-yo, po-keu ju-si-ge-sseo-yo네, 잠시만요.
Yes, just a moment.ne, jam-si-man-nyo감사합니다. 냅킨도 주시겠어요?
Thank you. Can I have a napkin too?gam-sa-ham-ni-da. naep-kin-do ju-si-ge-sseo-yo네, 여기 있습니다.
Yes, here you are.ne, yeo-gi it-seum-ni-daA little context goes a long way
In many Korean restaurants, spoons and chopsticks are already on the table, so asking for a fork or knife is common mainly in Western-style places or when you need to cut food. At cafés and fast-food counters, straws and napkins are often self-service near the counter, so a request may be answered with a gesture toward where you can take them. Using 주시겠어요? keeps the tone polite without being overly formal, and adding 저기요 (jeo-gi-yo) first is a natural way to get a server's attention.
One thing to watch for
Adding an article or plural ending, as in '포크를 하나 주시겠어요?' when you only need one item, or trying to say 'a fork' with a separate word for 'a'.
Try this instead: Korean does not use articles like 'a' or 'the' before nouns, and the noun does not change for singular or plural in this pattern. Say simply 포크 주시겠어요? (po-keu ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?). If you want to stress 'one', you can add 하나 (ha-na) before the verb: 포크 하나 주시겠어요? (po-keu ha-na ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?), but it is not required.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely ask for a spoon in Korean?
Show a sample answer
숟가락 주시겠어요? (sut-ga-rak ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?)
숟가락 means 'spoon' and 주시겠어요? makes the request polite. You could also say 숟가락 좀 주시겠어요? (sut-ga-rak jom ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?) with 좀 to soften it, which is also correct.
2You are at a café and need a straw. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
빨대 주시겠어요? (ppal-dae ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?)
빨대 is the everyday word for 'straw'. At a café you might also hear 빨대 있어요? (ppal-dae i-sseo-yo?), but the request pattern is polite and clear.
3The server says 없어요 (eop-seo-yo). How can you ask for chopsticks instead?
Show a sample answer
젓가락 주시겠어요? (jeot-ga-rak ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?)
없어요 means 'we don't have it'. You can reuse the same pattern with a different noun. 젓가락 means 'chopsticks' and is a common alternative when a fork is unavailable.
Memorize one pattern, [item] + 주시겠어요?, and swap in 포크, 나이프, 숟가락, 냅킨, or 빨대 as needed. It is polite, short, and works in most eating situations in Korea.
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