How to Say "I Want" and "Can I Have" in Korean for Any Food or Drink
Learn to ask for any food or drink in Korean with two beginner patterns: -go sipeoyo (I want) and -juseyo (please give me / can I have). Practice with coffee, apples, water and more.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
In Korean, you do not need a different phrase for every situation. Two beginner patterns cover almost everything you will ever need when you want a particular food or drink. The first is -go sipeoyo (고 싶어요), which means "I want to have ___" and works anywhere: at home, at a friend's house, in a shop, or at a market. The second is -juseyo (주세요), which means "please give me ___" and is the natural way to ask someone to hand you something or serve you. This lesson stays on those two patterns and shows you how to swap in foods and drinks such as coffee, apples, water and bread. You will also learn the small grammar point that decides whether you use the object particle eul or reul.
By the end, you can…
- say I want a particular food or drink using -go sipeoyo.
- ask for a particular food or drink politely using -juseyo.
- name common foods and drinks in Korean with correct particles.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
커피 마시고 싶어요.
I want to drink coffee.
keo-pi ma-si-go si-peo-yo
Use for drinks. The verb masida (to drink) comes before -go sipeoyo. Works at home, in a shop, or anywhere.
사과 먹고 싶어요.
I want to eat an apple.
sa-gwa meok-go si-peo-yo
Use for food. The verb meokda (to eat) comes before -go sipeoyo. Korean does not use a word for 'a' or 'an' here.
커피 주세요.
Coffee, please. / Can I have a coffee?
keo-pi ju-se-yo
The most common polite request. Put the item directly before juseyo. Natural in shops, homes and offices.
물 주세요.
Water, please.
mul ju-se-yo
Use when you want someone to bring or hand you water. No particle is needed in this short request.
사과를 주세요.
Please give me an apple.
sa-gwa-reul ju-se-yo
Adding reul marks apple as the object. This fuller form is clear and polite, and is common in shops and markets.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern -go sipeoyo (고 싶어요) attaches to a verb stem and means 'I want to do that action.' For food and drink, use meokda (먹다, to eat) or masida (마시다, to drink). Drop the final -da and add -go sipeoyo: meokda becomes 먹고 싶어요 (meok-go si-peo-yo), 'I want to eat'; masida becomes 마시고 싶어요 (ma-si-go si-peo-yo), 'I want to drink.' Then place the food or drink before the verb: 커피 마시고 싶어요 (keo-pi ma-si-go si-peo-yo), 'I want to drink coffee.' The other pattern, -juseyo (주세요), is a request: put the item directly before it, as in 빵 주세요 (ppang ju-se-yo), 'bread, please.'
When to use it
Use -go sipeoyo to express your own wish, especially when you are deciding or telling someone what you would like: 저는 주스 마시고 싶어요 (jeo-neun ju-seu ma-si-go si-peo-yo), 'I want to drink juice.' Use -juseyo when you are asking another person to give or serve you something: 주스 주세요 (ju-seu ju-se-yo), 'juice, please.' In shops, homes and markets, -juseyo is the safer everyday choice because it is a polite request, not just a statement about yourself. Both patterns work outside cafes, so you can use them when a friend offers you a snack or when you buy fruit at a market.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
뭐 마시고 싶어요?
What do you want to drink?mwo ma-si-go si-peo-yo?커피 마시고 싶어요.
I want to drink coffee.keo-pi ma-si-go si-peo-yo.여기 커피 주세요.
Coffee here, please.yeo-gi keo-pi ju-se-yo.네, 여기 있어요.
Yes, here you are.ne, yeo-gi i-sseo-yo.A little context goes a long way
In Korean, 주세요 (juseyo) is polite and safe in most everyday situations, including shops, homes and markets. It is not rude, but it is direct. If you want to sound a little softer or more formal, you can say 주시겠어요? (ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?), which means 'Could you please give me...?' For friends, the same request can be shortened to 줘 (jwo), but that is casual and should not be used with strangers or people older than you.
One thing to watch for
Using the object particle eul/reul with -go sipeoyo, as in 커피를 마시고 싶어요, and thinking it is required.
Try this instead: The particle is optional and often dropped in speech. 커피 마시고 싶어요 (keo-pi ma-si-go si-peo-yo) is perfectly natural. When you do use it, choose eul after a consonant and reul after a vowel: 물을 주세요 (mul-eul ju-se-yo), 'water, please,' but 커피를 주세요 (keo-pi-reul ju-se-yo), 'coffee, please.'
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How would you say 'I want to eat an apple' in Korean?
Show a sample answer
사과 먹고 싶어요. (sa-gwa meok-go si-peo-yo.)
The food comes first, then the verb stem meok- plus -go sipeoyo. You can also say 사과를 먹고 싶어요 with the object particle reul, which is correct but not required.
2You are at a friend's house and want water. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
물 주세요. (mul ju-se-yo.)
This is a polite request meaning 'water, please.' It works outside cafes, including at someone's home. You could also say 물을 주세요 with the object particle eul.
3Which pattern expresses your own wish rather than asking someone to give you something?
Show a sample answer
-고 싶어요 (-go sipeoyo), as in 커피 마시고 싶어요.
-go sipeoyo describes what you want to do. -juseyo is a request for someone to give or serve you something. Both are useful, but they do different jobs.
Use -go sipeoyo to say what you want to eat or drink, and -juseyo to politely ask for a food or drink. Swap in any item you like, and remember that Korean does not need 'a' or 'an' before it.
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