How to Say 'Enjoy Your Meal' and Ask for the Salt in Korean
Learn polite Korean table phrases: starting a meal, passing dishes, complimenting food, and asking for the salt with the right level of politeness.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
At a Korean table, small phrases do a lot of work. This lesson teaches you how to invite others to eat, ask someone to pass a dish, request the salt politely, and compliment the cook. You will use two polite endings: -세요 for requests to others and -어요/아요 for friendly statements. Everything here is beginner level and uses Hangul with Revised Romanization so you can read and say each line with confidence.
By the end, you can…
- invite people at the table to start eating with a polite phrase.
- ask someone to pass a side dish or the salt using a polite request.
- compliment the food and respond when someone compliments my cooking.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
맛있게 드세요.
Enjoy your meal.
ma-sit-ge deu-se-yo
Said to others just before eating. Use it when you are not the one eating, or when you want to invite everyone to start.
잘 먹겠습니다.
I will eat well. (Thank you for the meal.)
jal meok-get-seum-ni-da
Said before eating, especially when someone else prepared or paid for the food. It is a set polite phrase.
소금 좀 주세요.
Could you pass the salt, please?
so-geum jom ju-se-yo
The standard polite request. 좀 (jom) softens the request, like 'please' or 'just'.
그릇 좀 주시겠어요?
Could you pass me a bowl, please?
geu-reut jom ju-si-ge-sseo-yo
Slightly more polite and tentative than 주세요. Use it with people you have just met or in a formal setting.
정말 맛있어요.
It is really delicious.
jeong-mal ma-si-sseo-yo
A warm compliment during the meal. You can replace 정말 with 진짜 (jin-jja) in casual speech.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
For polite requests, attach -세요 to a verb stem: 주다 (juda, 'to give') becomes 주세요 (juseyo, 'please give'). Add 좀 (jom) before the verb to soften the request: 물 좀 주세요 (mul jom juseyo, 'please pass the water'). For an even gentler request, use -시겠어요: 주시겠어요? (jusigesseoyo?, 'could you please give?'). To compliment food, use 맛있어요 (masisseoyo, 'it is delicious') or 맛있게 드세요 (masitge deuseyo, 'enjoy your meal').
When to use it
Use 맛있게 드세요 when you are inviting others to eat, and 잘 먹겠습니다 when you are about to eat food someone provided. At the table, 소금 좀 주세요 works with family, friends, and most everyday situations. If you are with a boss, an elder, or someone you just met, 그릇 좀 주시겠어요? sounds more careful. Compliment with 정말 맛있어요 during the meal; it is friendly and safe in almost any setting.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
다 준비됐어요. 맛있게 드세요.
Everything is ready. Enjoy your meal.da jun-bi-dwaesseoyo. ma-sit-ge deu-se-yo.잘 먹겠습니다. 아, 소금 좀 주세요.
Thank you for the meal. Oh, could you pass the salt, please?jal meok-get-seum-ni-da. a, so-geum jom ju-se-yo.여기요. 근데 이거 정말 맛있어요.
Here you go. By the way, this is really delicious.yeo-gi-yo. geun-de i-geo jeong-mal ma-si-sseo-yo.고마워요. 더 드세요.
Thank you. Have some more.go-ma-wo-yo. deo deu-se-yo.A little context goes a long way
Korean table politeness often depends on who is older or in a higher position. With elders or superiors, use the more careful request form -시겠어요? and say 잘 먹겠습니다 before eating. With close friends, shorter forms like 소금 좀 줘 (so-geum jom jwo) are common, but they can sound blunt in formal situations, so keep 주세요 as your safe default.
One thing to watch for
Using 줘 (jwo) with someone older or in a formal setting because it is shorter and easier to remember.
Try this instead: Use 주세요 (juseyo) as your polite default: 소금 좀 주세요 (so-geum jom ju-se-yo). For extra politeness, use 주시겠어요: 소금 좀 주시겠어요? (so-geum jom ju-si-ge-sseo-yo?).
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely ask someone to pass the salt?
Show a sample answer
소금 좀 주세요.
This uses the polite request form 주세요 with 좀 to soften it. 소금 좀 주시겠어요? is also correct and slightly more formal.
2What do you say before eating when someone else prepared the meal?
Show a sample answer
잘 먹겠습니다.
This set phrase thanks the person who provided the food. It is used before eating, not after.
3How do you compliment the food during the meal?
Show a sample answer
정말 맛있어요.
This means 'It is really delicious.' 진짜 맛있어요 is also fine in casual conversation, but 정말 is safe in most situations.
Use 잘 먹겠습니다 before eating and 맛있게 드세요 to invite others. For requests, keep 소금 좀 주세요 as your polite default, and switch to 주시겠어요 when you need extra politeness.
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