How to Make Coffee in Korean: Beginner Dialogue & Vocabulary ☕

In this beginner Korean lesson, you’ll follow a simple conversation between Minjun and Seoyeon who are feeling a bit sleepy. You’ll learn essential vocabulary for making coffee, how to suggest an activity using -(으)ㄹ까요?, and how to talk about where things are located.

💬 Video Transcript

민준: 서연 씨, 어서 오세요.
(Minjun: Seoyeon, welcome.)

서연: 민준 씨, 안녕하세요.
(Seoyeon: Hello, Minjun.)

민준: 오늘 날씨가 좋네요.
(Minjun: The weather is nice today.)

서연: 네, 정말 좋아요. 그런데… 조금 졸려요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, it’s really nice. But… I’m a little sleepy.)

민준: 어? 저도 졸려요. 지금 너무 졸려요.
(Minjun: Oh? I’m sleepy too. I’m so sleepy right now.)

서연: 그럼 우리 커피 마실까요?
(Seoyeon: Then shall we drink coffee?)

민준: 커피요? 네, 좋아요! 커피 마셔요. 아주 좋은 생각이에요.
(Minjun: Coffee? Yes, great! Let’s drink coffee. That’s a very good idea.)

서연: 좋아요. 그럼 컵이 어디에 있어요?
(Seoyeon: Okay. Then where are the cups?)

민준: 컵은 저기 선반 위에 있어요.
(Minjun: The cups are over there on the shelf.)

서연: 아, 네. 보여요. 제가 컵을 가져올게요. 컵 두 개, 맞죠?
(Seoyeon: Ah, yes. I see them. I’ll bring the cups. Two cups, right?)

민준: 네, 맞아요. 컵 두 개요.
(Minjun: Yes, that’s right. Two cups.)

서연: 자, 여기 컵 있어요.
(Seoyeon: Here, here are the cups.)

민준: 고마워요. 이제 커피… 커피는 여기 있어요. 이 커피 어때요?
(Minjun: Thank you. Now for the coffee… the coffee is here. How about this coffee?)

서연: 좋아요. 그 커피 맛있어요. 그럼 뜨거운 물이 필요해요.
(Seoyeon: Good. That coffee is delicious. Then we need hot water.)

민준: 맞아요. 뜨거운 물. 제가 물을 끓일게요. 잠시만 기다려요.
(Minjun: Right. Hot water. I’ll boil the water. Wait just a moment.)

서연: 네, 알겠어요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, I understand.)

민준: 자, 뜨거운 물 여기 있어요. 아주 뜨거워요. 조심하세요.
(Minjun: Here, the hot water is here. It’s very hot. Be careful.)

서연: 와, 고마워요. 이제 컵에 커피를 넣어요.
(Seoyeon: Wow, thank you. Now I’ll put the coffee in the cup.)

민준: 네. 서연 씨, 설탕은 필요해요?
(Minjun: Okay. Seoyeon, do you need sugar?)

서연: 네, 설탕 조금 필요해요. 한 스푼만요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, I need a little sugar. Just one spoonful.)

민준: 알겠어요. 여기 설탕이요. 우유는요? 우유도 필요해요?
(Minjun: I see. Here’s the sugar. What about milk? Do you need milk too?)

서연: 아니요, 우유는 괜찮아요. 저는 설탕만 넣어요.
(Seoyeon: No, milk is okay. I only put in sugar.)

민준: 알겠어요. 저는 설탕하고 우유, 둘 다 넣어요. 저는 단 커피가 좋아요.
(Minjun: I see. I put in both sugar and milk. I like sweet coffee.)

서연: 저도 이제 커피를 만들어요. 커피를 넣고… 설탕을 넣고…
(Seoyeon: I’ll make my coffee now too. I put in the coffee… and put in the sugar…)

민준: 저도요. 커피, 설탕, 우유… 다 넣었어요.
(Minjun: Me too. Coffee, sugar, milk… I’ve put them all in.)

서연: 이제 스푼으로 잘 섞어요.
(Seoyeon: Now, mix it well with a spoon.)

민준: 네, 섞어요. 잘 섞어요. 다 됐어요.
(Minjun: Yes, mixing. Mixing well. All done.)

서연: 제 커피도 다 됐어요. 우리 이제 마셔요.
(Seoyeon: My coffee is all done too. Let’s drink now.)

민준: 네, 마셔요!
(Minjun: Yes, let’s drink!)

서연: 음, 맛있다! 이 커피 정말 맛있어요.
(Seoyeon: Mmm, delicious! This coffee is really delicious.)

민준: 그렇죠? 집에서 마시는 커피도 맛있어요.
(Minjun: Right? Coffee you drink at home is delicious too.)

서연: 네, 정말 맛있어요. 이제 잠이 안 와요. 정말이에요.
(Seoyeon: Yes, it’s really delicious. Now I’m not sleepy. Really.)

민준: 저도요! 이제 하나도 안 졸려요. 기분이 좋아요.
(Minjun: Me too! I’m not sleepy at all now. I feel good.)

서연: 커피를 마셔서 기분이 정말 좋아요.
(Seoyeon: I feel really good because I drank coffee.)

민준: 우리 이제 뭐 할까요? 안 졸려요.
(Minjun: What shall we do now? We’re not sleepy.)

서연: 음… 우리 같이 책을 읽을까요?
(Seoyeon: Um… shall we read a book together?)

민준: 네, 좋아요. 저기 책이 많이 있어요. 같이 책 읽어요.
(Minjun: Yes, that sounds good. There are a lot of books over there. Let’s read a book together.)

서연: 좋아요! 같이 책 읽어요.
(Seoyeon: Okay! Let’s read together.)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some key words and phrases from the video. Practice your pronunciation with the audio clips!

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s look at two useful grammar patterns that appeared in the dialogue.

1. Making Suggestions: -(으)ㄹ까요?

When you want to suggest doing something with someone, you can use the -(으)ㄹ까요? ending. It’s like saying “Shall we…?” or “How about…?” in English.

• If the verb stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ, you add -ㄹ까요?.
• If the verb stem ends in a consonant, you add -을까요?.

Look at these examples from the script:

• 마시다 (to drink) → 마시 + ㄹ까요? → 마실까요?

  서연: 그럼 우리 커피 마실까요? (Seoyeon: Then shall we drink coffee?)

• 하다 (to do) → 하 + ㄹ까요? → 할까요?

  민준: 우리 이제 뭐 할까요? (Minjun: What shall we do now?)

2. Expressing Intention: -(으)ㄹ게요

When you want to state your intention or decision to do something, especially in response to what someone else has said, you can use -(으)ㄹ게요. This is a first-person statement that means “I will…” or “I’m going to…”.

• If the verb stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ, you add -ㄹ게요.
• If the verb stem ends in a consonant, you add -을게요.

Here are the examples from Minjun and Seoyeon’s conversation:

• 가져오다 (to bring) → 가져오 + ㄹ게요 → 가져올게요

  서연: 제가 컵을 가져올게요. (Seoyeon: I’ll bring the cups.)

• 끓이다 (to boil) → 끓이 + ㄹ게요 → 끓일게요

  민준: 제가 물을 끓일게요. (Minjun: I’ll boil the water.)

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Review the key phrases from this lesson with these flashcards.

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• Use -(으)ㄹ까요? to make a suggestion, like when Seoyeon asks, “커피 마실까요?” (Shall we drink coffee?).
• Use -(으)ㄹ게요 to state your own plan or intention, like when Minjun says, “제가 물을 끓일게요” (I will boil the water).
• To ask where something is, use the pattern (Noun)이/가 어디에 있어요?, as in “컵이 어디에 있어요?” (Where are the cups?).
• Essential vocabulary for a coffee break includes 컵 (cup), 뜨거운 물 (hot water), 설탕 (sugar), 우유 (milk), 넣다 (to put in), and 섞다 (to mix).
• You can express feelings with phrases like 졸려요 (I’m sleepy) and 기분이 좋아요 (I feel good).

🎯 Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of the dialogue and grammar!

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below. Use correct spelling.