Korean Shops and Buildings Vocabulary: Words and Examples

Korean Shops and Buildings Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 40 words in five groups of eight: everyday shops, big stores, specialty shops, eateries and trades, and cultural and government buildings. It is a deeper page of Around the City, next to Korean Post Office Vocabulary, and it goes into more detail on shops than the city list does.

Some places, such as 서점 and 빵집, also appear on the city list as short samples. Here they are taught with the full set of shop endings. For the shopping words that go with these places, see shopping. The next section says where to start.

Which Shop and Building Names Should You Learn First?

Learn 가게 (shop), 마트 (supermarket), 백화점 (department store), 서점 (bookstore) and 빵집 (bakery) first. They cover most of a shopping day, and each shows a different ending. Then add 시청 (city hall) and 주민센터 (neighbourhood office) if you plan to live in Korea.

• Words to say. 가게, 마트, 서점, 빵집, 꽃집, 카페.
• Words to read on street signs. 문구점, 면세점, 철물점, 가구점, 매장.
• Words for offices and culture. 시청, 구청, 주민센터, 박물관, 극장.

One point sets Korean shopping apart. Many small shops carry the owner's name or the goods they sell, plus a short ending. A sign that reads 영희 문구점 is Younghee's stationery shop, and the ending tells you the type before you read the first word.

Word · 8

1. 1

   가게

   Play

   gage

   shop; small store

2. 2

   서점

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   seojeom

   bookstore

3. 3

   빵집

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   ppangjip

   bakery

4. 4

   꽃집

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   kkotjip

   flower shop

5. 5

   문구점

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   mungujeom

   stationery shop

6. 6

   마트

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   mateu

   mart; supermarket

7. 7

   백화점

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   baekhwajeom

   department store

8. 8

   주민센터

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   juminsenteo

   neighborhood community center

Everyday Shops

These eight words cover the small shops of a residential street. The first two are general words for a shop, and the next six name a specific kind.

The words 가게 and 상점 both mean shop, but 가게 is the one you say. 상점 is how a sign or a news article names a shop. Place the type before the ending to build a name: 꽃 + 집 = 꽃집, and 과일 + 가게 = 과일 가게. Both patterns are common.

Big Stores

Large stores work on a different scale from small shops. These eight words are the places where you shop for a full list, buy gifts or hunt for a discount.

Choose by purpose. A 슈퍼 is for a quick errand, a 마트 for the weekly shop, a 백화점 for gifts and a 전통 시장 for fresh food and street snacks. Loanwords such as 쇼핑몰 and 아울렛 keep their English shape and are written in Hangul only. The longer shopping vocabulary is on the shopping page.

Specialty Shops

These eight words cover shops that sell one kind of good. Several are built from a goods word plus 가게, so you can add your own: 신발 + 가게 gives shoe shop.

The word 매장 deserves a note. It means the retail space of a business, so 매장 안내 is a store directory and 매장 이용 means using the shop floor. It also names a branch: 이 매장 (this branch). A shopper hears it often in announcements, which is why it is worth learning early.

Eateries and Trades

Korean streets are lined with small eateries and trade shops, and most end in -집. This group collects the ones you will see and the repair trades that keep a neighbourhood running.

The ending -집 is the colloquial ending for a shop or an eatery, and it is the marker of a casual place: 치킨집 is a chicken place, not a formal restaurant. The formal ending is 점. Both can sometimes name the same business, but -집 sounds closer to speech and -점 closer to a sign.

Cultural and Government Buildings

The last group names the public buildings that foreign residents and visitors use. The first four are cultural and the last four are government offices, which run from the city level down to the neighbourhood.

The three offices run from big to small. 시청 serves a whole city, 구청 a district of it and 주민센터 a single neighbourhood. Most everyday paperwork for residents goes through the 주민센터 first. The address system that places them is explained on the Places and Travel page.

What Is the Difference between 가게, 상점, 마트 and 백화점?

All four mean a place that sells goods, but they differ in size and register. The table compares them with the situation where each fits.

The choice shows in a sentence. 가게에 가요 means you go to a shop nearby, and the shop is probably small. 마트에 가요 means a supermarket trip. 백화점에 가요 is usually for something special. The word 상점 is not wrong, but a Korean speaker would say 가게 in the same sentence.

Why Do Some Shops End in -점, -집 and -가게?

Shop names come in three common patterns, and the ending tells you the register.

• -점 (jeom). The formal ending, as in 서점, 문구점 and 면세점. It appears on signs and in writing.
• -집 (jip). The colloquial ending, as in 빵집, 꽃집 and 술집. It sounds like speech and is common for food and drink.
• -가게 (gage). A two-word pattern, as in 과일 가게 and 열쇠 가게. It names a small shop, with the goods first.

You can often swap the endings: 꽃집 and 꽃 가게 are both understood. The words 빵집 and 서점 are fixed, though, so you would not say 빵점 for a bakery; 빵점 means a score of zero. The ending also changes sound. In most -집 compounds the ㅈ of 집 is said tense, so 빵집 is said [빵찝]. For the everyday places around these shops, such as banks, stations and parks, see the Around the City list.

How Do You Ask Whether a Shop Is Nearby?

The pattern is 근처에 [shop] 있어요? (Is there a [shop] nearby?). For example, 근처에 서점 있어요? asks whether a bookstore is nearby. A clerk or passer-by answers with 네, 있어요 (yes, there is) and a position, such as 저기 편의점 옆에 있어요 (It is over there next to the convenience store). The pattern links to the position words on the Korean Directions Vocabulary page.

A related question is 어디에서 살 수 있어요? (Where can I buy it?), which asks about a place of purchase. The answer names one of the shops above. For shop-front vocabulary such as prices and sale signs, see shopping.

How Do You Pronounce Korean Shop and Building Names?

Shop and building names contain several sound changes that the spelling hides. The Revised Romanization of Korean records the spelling and ignores many of these changes. The standard pronunciation rules published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) give the spoken form.

The tense [ㅉ] in -집 words is the most common slip. Say the ㅈ tight, with no puff of air. The Hangul does not show the change, so the audio is your guide.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each headword and each example sentence has its own audio clip. The clips below replay the trickiest words at a slower pace. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Shop and Building Names?

These five mistakes come up most when learners name places.

1. Saying 상점 in everyday speech. It is correct but stiff. Say 가게 for a small shop.
2. Treating 집 only as "house". In 빵집 and 술집, 집 marks a shop or eatery. In 우리 집 it means home.
3. Mixing 시청, 구청 and 주민센터. They are three levels of office: city, district and neighbourhood.
4. Confusing 서점 and 문구점. A 서점 sells books. A 문구점 sells pens, notebooks and school supplies, and the two are different shops, even when they stand side by side.
5. Forgetting the tense sound in -집 words. 빵집 is said [빵찝], not [빵집].

If you remember only one, remember the three offices, because each handles different paperwork.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Study in three steps. First, run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until you know each of the 40 words. Second, switch to listening mode and answer from the audio alone. Third, take the quiz. The deck covers all 40 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, copy the 40 words by hand and write the meaning next to each. Sketch your own street and label each shop in Korean.

Where to Go Next

After this page, return to Around the City or continue with Korean Post Office Vocabulary. For the single queries on their own, see bookstore in korean and department store in korean. For things to buy, see shopping.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Bookstore in Korean?

Bookstore is 서점 (seojeom), from 서 (book) and 점 (shop). In a sentence, 서점에서 소설을 찾아요 means I look for a novel at the bookstore. A stationery shop is a different place, 문구점, and a library, where you borrow books, is 도서관.

How Do You Say Bakery in Korean?

Bakery is 빵집 (ppangjip). The word is said [빵찝], with a tense ㅈ. 빵 is bread and 집 marks a shop. A baker, the person, is 제빵사. Say 빵집에서 빵을 사요 for I buy bread at the bakery.

How Do You Say Flower Shop in Korean?

Flower shop is 꽃집 (kkotjip), said [꼳찝]. 꽃 is flower and 집 is a shop. You can also say 꽃 가게. The word is everyday speech, as in 꽃집에서 장미를 샀어요 (I bought roses at the flower shop).

How Do You Pronounce 서점?

Say seo-jeom, with two clear syllables. The first vowel is the open [eo], and the second syllable ends in [m]. There is no sound change. Play the 서점 clip in the everyday-shops table to hear it.

What Is the Difference between 가게 and 상점?

Both mean shop. 가게 is the everyday word for a small shop, and 상점 is a more formal word for signs, news and compounds such as 상점가 (shopping street). In speech, say 가게, as in 저 가게에서 과일을 팔아요 (They sell fruit at that shop).

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 and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

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