Shopping

Korean shopping involves a few specific cultural patterns. At smaller stores and markets, you can negotiate prices by asking 깎아 주세요 (please give me a discount), though this is increasingly less common in modern fixed-price retail. At larger department stores and chains, prices are fixed. The key vocabulary: 사이즈 (size), 색깔 (colour), 입어 봐도 돼요? (can I try it on?), 더 큰 거 (a bigger one), 더 작은 거 (a smaller one).

A pattern worth noting: 이거 (this), 저거 (that, far), 그거 (that, near you or already mentioned) are essential for shopping because you'll point to items constantly. The polite version 이게 / 저게 / 그게 is used when these words function as the subject of a sentence ('this is what I want' = 이게 좋아요). Practice the pointing-plus-particle pattern with the 이거 family until it's automatic — you'll use it in every shopping interaction.