Korean for Inviting Someone to Your Home for Dinner
Learn to invite someone to your home for dinner in polite Korean and suggest a time, using home-hosting phrases that differ from restaurant invitations.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
Inviting someone to your home for dinner is different from asking them out to a restaurant. In Korean, a home invitation often uses the phrase 우리 집에 (uri jibe, 'to my/our home') and the verb 초대하다 (chodaehada, 'to invite'). You also need a polite question form such as 드실래요? (deusillaeyo?, 'Would you like to eat?') and a way to suggest a time, for example 토요일 저녁 어때요? (toyoil jeonyeok eottaeyo?, 'How about Saturday evening?'). This lesson gives you complete, natural sentences for inviting a friend, coworker, or acquaintance to your home and for agreeing on a time.
By the end, you can…
- invite someone to my home for dinner in polite Korean.
- suggest a specific day and time for the dinner.
- respond politely when someone invites me to their home.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요?
Would you like to come to my home for dinner?
u-ri ji-be jeo-nyeok meo-geu-reo o-sil-lae-yo?
Polite home invitation. Use 오실래요? to an adult or someone you are not close to; use 올래요? to a close friend. Note that 오실래요? is a 'would you like to come?' form, so it fits when the guest comes to where you are.
토요일 저녁 어때요?
How about Saturday evening?
to-yo-il jeo-nyeok eo-ttae-yo?
A simple, natural way to suggest a time. You can replace 토요일 with any day.
몇 시가 좋으세요?
What time would be good for you?
myeot si-ga jo-eu-se-yo?
Use this after the other person accepts, to let them choose the time politely.
제가 집에서 요리할게요.
I'll cook at home.
je-ga ji-be-seo yo-ri-hal-ge-yo.
This makes clear that the meal is at your home, not at a restaurant. -ㄹ게요 expresses the speaker's intention or promise.
우리 집은 학교 근처에 있어요.
My home is near the school.
u-ri ji-beun hak-gyo geun-cheo-e i-sseo-yo.
A useful sentence when you give directions or explain where your home is.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern 우리 집에 ... 오실래요? (uri jibe ... osillaeyo?) means 'Would you like to come to my home ...?' Put the activity before 오실래요?. For example, 우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요? means 'Would you like to come to my home for dinner?' and 우리 집에 차 마시러 오실래요? means 'Would you like to come to my home for tea?' The ending -으러 (or -러 after a vowel) means 'in order to' and attaches to a verb stem: 먹다 becomes 먹으러, 마시다 becomes 마시러.
When to use it
Use 오실래요? with adults, teachers, or people you have just met. With a close friend of the same age, 올래요? is more natural: 우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 올래요? For a group, you can say 우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요? to each person politely. After the person accepts, suggest a time with 토요일 저녁 어때요? or ask 몇 시가 좋으세요? If you are the guest, a polite reply is 좋아요, 고마워요 (joayo, gomawoyo, 'Sounds good, thank you'). Note that 네, 잘 먹겠습니다 (ne, jal meokgetseumnida) is said before eating, not as a reply to the invitation.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
민수 씨, 이번 주말에 시간 있어요?
Minsu, do you have time this weekend?min-su ssi, i-beon ju-ma-re si-gan i-sseo-yo?네, 토요일은 괜찮아요. 왜요?
Yes, Saturday is fine. Why?ne, to-yo-i-reun gwaen-chan-a-yo. wae-yo?우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요? 제가 요리할게요.
Would you like to come to my home for dinner? I will cook.u-ri ji-be jeo-nyeok meo-geu-reo o-sil-lae-yo? je-ga yo-ri-hal-ge-yo.좋아요! 몇 시가 좋으세요?
Sounds good! What time would be good for you?jo-a-yo! myeot si-ga jo-eu-se-yo?A little context goes a long way
In Korean home invitations, the host often says something modest like 별거 아니에요 (byeolgeo anieyo, 'It's nothing special') even when the meal is generous. Guests commonly bring a small gift such as fruit or dessert, and saying 잘 먹겠습니다 before eating is polite. These are general customs, not rules that apply to every family.
One thing to watch for
Using 식당에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요? (sikdang-e jeonyeok meogeureo osillaeyo?) to invite someone to your home.
Try this instead: 식당 means 'restaurant', so this sentence asks the person to come to a restaurant, not your home. For a home invitation, say 우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요? Use 우리 집 (uri jip, 'my/our home') when the meal is at your house.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely invite a coworker to your home for dinner?
Show a sample answer
우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 오실래요?
This uses 우리 집에 for 'to my home', 먹으러 for 'in order to eat', and the polite ending 오실래요? A close friend could also be asked with 올래요?.
2You accepted the invitation. How do you ask what time is good?
Show a sample answer
몇 시가 좋으세요?
This politely asks the host to choose a time. You could also suggest a time yourself, for example 토요일 저녁 어때요?
3What is wrong with 우리 집에 저녁 먹으러 가실래요?
Show a sample answer
가실래요? means 'Would you like to go?', which suggests going away from the speaker. For coming to the speaker's home, use 오실래요?
Korean distinguishes 가다 (gada, 'to go') and 오다 (oda, 'to come'). Since the host is at home, the guest comes, so 오실래요? is correct.
Invite someone to your home with 우리 집에 ... 오실래요?, then suggest a time with 토요일 저녁 어때요? or ask 몇 시가 좋으세요? Remember that 우리 집 makes it a home invitation, not a restaurant invitation.
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