Korean Coffee Shop Vocabulary: 35 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Coffee Shop Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 35 words in five groups. It belongs to Drinks. Three of the groups are the words on the menu board: coffee, other drinks and pastries. The other two are the words you speak: how you customise a drink and how you place the order. Because many items are loanwords, an English speaker can recognise a good part of the list on first sight.

Loanwords change in Korean in predictable ways. Korean adds a vowel after English consonant clusters and many endings: 'ice' becomes 아이스 (a-i-seu), with an extra 으 vowel at the end, and 'cream' becomes 크림 (keu-rim). Once you know that habit, you can guess new menu items.

Which Cafe Menu Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 아메리카노, 라떼, 아이스, 포장 and 주세요 first. With those five you can order a drink, choose cold or hot and say whether it is to go. A complete order is short: 아이스 라떼 한 잔 주세요 (one iced latte, please).

• Words to say. 아메리카노, 라떼, 아이스, 포장, 매장. These cover almost every order.
• Words to recognise. 콜드브루, 에이드, 진동벨. You read these on boards and hear them from staff.
• Slang to understand. 아아 and 뜨아. Regulars say them quickly, and you may hear them at the counter.

Hot drinks are written 따뜻한 or 뜨거운 and cold ones 아이스, so watch for those words on the board. The scene below shows a cafe counter with numbered objects that match the list.

Word · 24

1. 1

   커피

   Play

   keopi

   coffee

2. 2

   아메리카노

   Play

   amerikano

   americano

3. 3

   라떼

   Play

   ratte

   latte

4. 4

   카푸치노

   Play

   kapuchino

   cappuccino

5. 5

   에스프레소

   Play

   eseupeureso

   espresso

6. 6

   콜드브루

   Play

   koldeubeuru

   cold brew

7. 7

   아아

   Play

   aa

   iced americano (slang)

8. 8

   뜨아

   Play

   tteua

   hot americano (slang)

9. 9

   차

   Play

   cha

   tea

10. 10

    녹차

    Play

    nokcha

    green tea

11. 11

    홍차

    Play

    hongcha

    black tea

12. 12

    유자차

    Play

    yujacha

    yuzu tea

13. 13

    에이드

    Play

    eideu

    ade

14. 14

    스무디

    Play

    seumudi

    smoothie

15. 15

    핫초코

    Play

    hatchoko

    hot chocolate

16. 16

    주스

    Play

    juseu

    juice

17. 17

    아이스

    Play

    aiseu

    iced

18. 18

    뜨거운

    Play

    tteugeoun

    hot

19. 19

    사이즈

    Play

    saijeu

    size

20. 20

    샷

    Play

    syat

    shot (of espresso)

21. 21

    시럽

    Play

    sireop

    syrup

22. 22

    휘핑크림

    Play

    hwipingkeurim

    whipped cream

23. 23

    얼음

    Play

    eoreum

    ice

24. 24

    빨대

    Play

    ppaldae

    straw

Coffee Drinks

Coffee drinks are the core of any menu, and almost all of them are loanwords written in Hangul. Cafes print the spelling they like, so you will see 라떼 on boards although the dictionary form is 라테. Two shortened names, 아아 and 뜨아, are shop slang that regulars use. They stand for 아이스 아메리카노 (iced americano) and 뜨거운 아메리카노 (hot americano).

Notice the counter 잔 (cup, glass). Drinks are counted as 한 잔, 두 잔, 세 잔, using native Korean numbers. The same counters appear on the food counters page.

Example Sentences

Three frames carry most of the examples. The first is noun + 한 잔 + 주세요, as in 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요 (one americano, please). The second is noun + 을/를 + verb, as in 커피를 마셔요 (I drink coffee). The third is noun + 이/가 + descriptive verb, as in 에스프레소는 진해요 (espresso is strong). Say each sentence aloud after the audio and swap in another drink. Remember that 를 follows a vowel (커피를) and 을 follows a consonant (빵을).

How Do You Say Tea and Non-Coffee Drinks in Korean?

Tea and non-coffee drinks take up half of many menus. Korean cafes sell traditional teas such as 유자차 (yuzu tea) beside Western items such as 핫초코 (hot chocolate). The word 차 (cha) means tea, and it joins other nouns to name each kind: 녹차 is green tea and 홍차 is black tea.

The rule is to put the flavour first and the drink type last: 레몬 에이드 (lemon ade), 딸기 스무디 (strawberry smoothie), 오렌지 주스 (orange juice). A flavour word you already know from the Korean Fruit Names list slots straight in.

Sizes, Temperature and Extras

Customising an order needs short request words. Temperature is usually chosen first, because every drink is available hot or iced. Then come size, extra shots and syrups. Cafe staff often ask 따뜻한 거, 아이스? (warm or iced?), and menus also print HOT and ICE in English letters.

Two request verbs do most of the work. 추가해 주세요 means please add, and 빼 주세요 means please take out. Put any item before them: 샷 추가해 주세요 (add a shot) and 얼음 빼 주세요 (no ice).

How Do You Say Pastries in Korean?

Pastry words are nearly all loanwords, so they are quick to learn. Cafes usually show cakes and baked goods in a glass case, and you point and name the item. Cakes are counted by the slice with 조각, and small items by 개 (pieces).

빵 is the general word for bread and baked goods, and it combines with other nouns: 단팥빵 is a sweet red bean bun. The tense sound in 빵 (pp) is stronger than the ㅂ in 밥 (bap). Listen to the clip before you say it.

Ordering and Takeaway

At the till you will hear two words again and again: 매장 (eat in) and 포장 (take away). Many cafes work on a pager system. You order and pay, you take a 진동벨 (buzzer) to your table, and it vibrates when the drink is ready. In some shops staff call out your name or order number instead.

A full order has three parts: the drink, the temperature and whether it is eat-in or takeaway. For example, 아이스 아메리카노 한 잔, 포장해 주세요 means one iced americano, to go. For longer exchanges, see the cafe phrases page.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Cafe words contain a few sounds that English speakers often miss. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark tense sounds that come from sound change.

Loanword vowels also shift. 쿠키 has a short 'u' and an 'i', and 샌드위치 ends with 치 (chi). Double letters (ㄸ, ㅃ) appear in words such as 라떼 and 빵, and they are said without a puff of air. Learners often add one, so listen to the clips before you copy them.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Cafe Menu Words?

Five mistakes appear often.

1. Expecting the dictionary spelling on the menu. 라테 is the standard spelling, but shops print 라떼 and say it with a tense ㄸ. Recognise both.
2. Using 아아 in writing or with someone you do not know well. It is spoken shop slang. At a counter, 아이스 아메리카노 is always safe.
3. Mixing 뜨거운 and 따뜻한. 뜨거운 is hot, as in coffee you must blow on, and 따뜻한 is warm. Menus use both.
4. Reading 매장 as a general word for a shop. At the till it means eat-in, the opposite of 포장 (takeaway).
5. Counting drinks with 한 개. Cups are counted with 잔, so say 한 잔 for one and 두 잔 for two.

Fix those five and your order will sound natural. The single word is covered on the page for coffee shop in Korean.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you recognise all 35 words. Second, switch to listening mode. Third, take the quiz. The deck holds all 35 words with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, write your usual cafe order in Korean, with the drink, the temperature and eat-in or takeaway.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Drinking Culture Vocabulary. To order a full meal, see restaurant phrases. For single-word lookups, open americano in Korean or coffee in Korean. To move up a level, return to Drinks.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Coffee Shop in Korean?

The common word is 카페 (kape), the word on most signs and in everyday speech, as in 카페에 가요 (I go to a cafe). 커피숍 (keopisyop) is also understood but sounds a little dated. Shop signs sometimes add 커피 전문점, a coffee specialist shop.

How Do You Say Americano in Korean?

Americano is 아메리카노 (amerikano). Say it in five even beats, a-me-ri-ka-no, with no stress on one syllable. Order it with the counter: 아메리카노 한 잔 주세요 means one americano, please. Press the audio button to hear it.

What Do 아아 and 뜨아 Mean?

아아 is shop slang for an iced americano, and 뜨아 is shop slang for a hot americano. They shorten 아이스 아메리카노 and 뜨거운 아메리카노. They are informal, so at a counter with someone you do not know the full names are the safe choice.

What Is the Difference between 포장 and 매장?

포장 means takeaway, and 매장 means eating inside the shop. Staff ask 포장이세요, 매장이세요? when you order. A one-word answer, 포장 or 매장, is enough. For a fuller answer, say 포장해 주세요 (please pack it to go) or 매장에서 먹을게요 (I will have it here).

Which Cafe Words Should I Learn First?

Start with 아메리카노, 라떼, 아이스, 포장 and 주세요. At five new words a day, the 35-word list takes a week plus review. Learn the order frame 'drink + 한 잔 + 주세요' first, because it works for every item.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid. Rely on the Hangul and the audio.

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