Korean Words for Shops & Stores

Hello everyone, it’s your Korean teacher Jun and welcome to the tutorial for Korean words. No matter how poor you are, you have to go to stores. It can be a grocery shopping or sometimes it can a new clean underwear shopping lol. Even if you don’t enjoy shopping, you will find all Korean words in this tutorial very helpful.

가게

[gage]
Shop / Store

가게 is a pure Korean words that means ‘shop’ or ‘store’. Korean language doesn’t distinguish between ‘shop’ and ‘store’. You can also use it for any restaurants, street vendors if it has some sort of structure for selling. Basically, It describes almost any places for business.

가게 doesn’t mean online stores. In that case, native Koreans use the English words such as ‘shop’ or ‘store’.

You can find many other Korean words that mean ‘store’ or ‘shop’. But 가게 is the most basic and common Korean word among all other Korean words for shop and stores and also most natural for casual conversations.

이 가게에서는 쓰레기를 팔아요
This store sells trash
 

음식점

[eumsikjjeom]
Restaurant

음식점 is a formal Korean word that means ‘restaurant’. It’s okay to use it in casual Korean conversations. Why is it only okay? Because native Koreans don’t use this Korean word very often (of course, it’s not we don’t use it at all). However, I recommend you to learn this word first because of 2 reasons.

1st, if you want to find some restaurant, normally you have to use this word. 2nd, other Korean words for restaurants can be tricky to use and this one never makes any troubles in any situations.

이 음식점 어때요? 지옥의 매운맛이래요
How about this restaurant? It says ‘the spicy of hell’
 

옷가게

[otgage]
Clothing store

옷가게 is an informal Korean word for ‘clothing store’. Native Koreans often use formal Korean words for stores but, oddly for fashion, the informal Korean word 옷가게 is much more natural and common..

옷가게 가서 바지 사려고 바지 안입고 나왔어요.
I didn’t my pants because I’ll buy one at a clothing store
 

서점

[seojeom]
Book store

서점 is a formal Korean word for ‘bookstore’. You can also use the informal Korean word 책 가게 (책 book + 가게 store) which literally means ‘book store’ but native Koreans prefer to use 서점 more.

서점에서 책을 백권 샀어요
I bought 100 books in a bookstore
 

편의점

[pyeonijeom]
Convenience store

편의점 literally means ‘convenience store’.

편의점 has to be pronounced [pyeo-nui-jeom] based on the spelling but the real pronunciation is [pyeo-ni-jeom], ‘i’ instead of ‘ui’.

이 근처에 편의점 어디있어요?
Where is a convenience store around here?
 

싸다

[ssada]
To be cheap / To deserve (some bad consequence)

싸다 is an informal Korean word that means ‘to be cheap’. But native Koreans sometimes use it in formal Korean conversations also. However, you should be careful with this Korean word. If you use it with the price, yes, that sounds very positive like ‘oh it’s very cheap comparing to the quality’. But if you use it with something else like quality, then yeah it sounds very negative like ‘the quality is shit’ just like the English word ‘cheap’.

There are other Korean words that have the same spelling with 싸다. Don’t get confused between them.

이거 엄청 싸게 샀어요
I bought it really cheap
 

비싸다

[bi-ssada]
To be expensive / pricey / spendy

비싸다 is an informal Korean word that has the opposite meaning of 싸다. 비싸다 means ‘expensive’, ‘pricey’ and ‘spendy’.

Many students and even Native Koreans confuse that 비 is an affix that means ‘not’ (I was one of them lol). But it’s actually from the old Korean word 빋 which means ‘price’.

비싸다 is used in formal Korean and informal Korean both.

세상에서 제일 비싼 쓰레기
The trash that is most expensive in the world
 

마트

[mateu]
Mart

마트 is same to ‘Mart’ in English. Pronounce mart without r. Well… 마트 is marts that you know, where you can buy some groceries and snacks. Easy.

마트에서 사과 사와요
Go buy apples at the mart
 

사다

[sada]
To buy / value /  get

사다 is an informal Korean word that means ‘to buy’.

It’s a very tricky Korean word to understand. In this course, we will focus on the basic meaning of 사다 : ‘to buy’. Besides the basic meaning. You should know 2 other meanings of 사다. 1st, You can also use it to say ‘earn’ especially someone’s thoughts and emotions forward to you (e.g. 미움을 사다 : someone hates another because of the result that has been made). 2nd, it also means ‘value someone or something. (e.g. 인품을 높게 사다 : value one’s fine personality)

이거 새로 샀어요?
Did you buy the new one?
 

팔다

[palda]
To sell

팔다 is an informal Korean word that means ‘to sell’. There are many Korean words for ‘sell’ but most of them are very formal so you won’t have many chances to hear them in daily conversations.

팔다 also means ‘to be distracted’, ‘to lose attention’ with other words like ‘정신 팔리다 (distracted / not focused)’ and ‘한 눈 팔다 (fail to keep eye on)’

저는 제 이마를 광고판으로 팔아요
I sell my forehead as a billboard
 

How To Use The Korean Words Like Natives

저 가게가 더 싸요
It’s more cheaper in that store

어느 음식점 갈까요?
What restaurant do you want to go?

옷가게 가서 이거 환불해야돼요
I have to go to the clothing store and refund it

책 사러 서점 갈거예요
I’m going to a bookstore to buy a book

편의점에서 뭐 좀 먹을래요?
Do you want to eat something in that convenience store?

이거 진짜 싸네요
It’s really cheap

이 코트는 너무 비싸요
This coat is too expensive

마트에서 장 봐야해요
I have to buy groceries in a mart

어느 거 살거에요?
Which one are you going to buy?

여기 목걸이도 팔아요?
Do you also sell necklaces here?