하나 주세요
hana juseyo
In Korean, one please is 하나 주세요 (hana juseyo).
The phrase is used to politely request a single item or a single serving of something, such as when ordering at a shop or restaurant.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of 하나 (hana), meaning 'one' and 주세요 (juseyo), meaning 'please give me'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
하나 주세요 is a polite and formal way to say 'one please', making it suitable for use with staff in restaurants or shops. In contrast, if you are among close friends, you can use the casual expression 하나 주라 to mean 'get me one'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Busan dialect, 하나 주이소 is used instead of the standard 주세요.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 주세요 is the polite imperative form of the verb 주다 (to give).
How do you pronounce it?
hana juseyo
Did you know?
- While 하나 주세요 is polite, using it with a very high-ranking person or a customer might still feel slightly too direct, as the verb 주다 is a basic form of 'to give'.
- If you are ordering items that can be counted, such as bottles or cups, you should swap 하나 for the counter-based form 한 개 (han gae) to sound more natural.
- The word 하나 comes from the Middle Korean term ᄒᆞ낳, which shows how the pronunciation of 'one' has shifted significantly over several centuries.
Examples in context
- 아이스 라떼 하나 주세요One iced latte, please
- 사과 하나 주세요.sagwa hana juseyo.An apple, please.
- 커피 하나 주세요.keopi hana juseyo.One coffee, please.
- 이것 하나 주세요.igeot hana juseyo.Please give me one of these.
Example conversation
Subin and Dohyun are at a bakery.
- 수빈 Su-bin도현 씨, 뭐 먹고 싶어요?do-hyeon ssi, mwo meok-go sip-eo-yo?Dohyun, what do you want to eat?
- 도현 Do-hyeon저는 초코빵 하나 주세요.jeo-neun cho-ko-ppang ha-na ju-se-yo.One chocolate bread for me, please.
- 수빈 Su-bin그럼 저도 하나 주세요.geu-reom jeo-do ha-na ju-se-yo.Then one for me too, please.
- 도현 Do-hyeon좋아요. 같이 주문해요.jo-a-yo. ga-chi ju-mun-hae-yo.Great. Let's order together.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 하나, CC BY-SA 4.0.
