Korean Shop Phrases: Trying On, Size, Exchange
Not the cafe counter. 입어 봐도 돼요, asking for a size, and 교환할 수 있어요 when the fit is wrong. Clothes and goods, not coffee.
Not the coffee counter
Cafe phrases close a drink: 주세요, 드시고 가세요, 포장. A shop floor is a rack and a fitting room. You ask to try it on, you name a size, and you come back for an exchange if the fit is wrong.
주세요 still works for “hand me that one on the hanger.” The rest of the cafe script does not travel. You will not hear 드시고 가세요 beside a pile of shirts.
Try it first
Staff may offer the try-on before you ask.
이 옷 입어 보세요.
i ot ibeo boseyo — Try this on.
입어 보세요 is -아/어 보다 plus the polite 세요. 입다 keeps ㅂ. It is not the ㅂ-irregular set. You get 입어요, then 입어 보다.
If they do not offer, you ask permission.
입어 봐도 돼요?
ibeo bwado dwaeyo? — May I try this on?
봐도 돼요 is -아/어도 되다 on top of the try-on. 보다 plus 아도 contracts to 봐도. You are not announcing that you will try it. You are asking if that is allowed.
A fitting room is 탈의실 or 피팅룸. Either word gets you pointed at a curtain.
Size, then a swap
이 사이즈 있어요? asks if they have this size. 조금 커요. 조금 작아요. 크다 → 커요. 작다 → 작아요.
If you already bought it and the fit is wrong, you come back with the tag still on when you can.
교환할 수 있어요?
gyohwanhal su isseoyo? — Can I exchange this?
수 있어요 asks whether the action is possible. 교환 is a swap for another size or colour. 환불 is money back. Do not treat them as the same word. Shops decide; the sentence only asks.
다른 색깔 있어요? asks for another colour of the same cut. 이거 하나 더 있어요? asks if they have one more on the shelf. Both are stock questions, not permission questions.
Hold up 영수증. 어제 샀어요. 사이즈가 안 맞아요. That is enough. You do not need a speech about store law.
One split to keep: cafe language pays for a drink you already chose. Shop language tests a thing on your body, then asks whether a change is allowed.
Common questions
Can I use cafe lines here?
주세요 still asks them to hand you a thing. [Cafe phrases](/posts/korean-cafe-phrases/) own 드시고 가세요 and 포장. A clothes shop is try-on, size, and exchange.
What if there is no fitting room?
Ask 입어 봐도 돼요? first. If they say 안 돼요, you stop. Permission is the question; it is not a right you announce.
커요 or 크요?
크다 is 커요. The stem vowel is ㅡ, so the 해요체 ending is -어요 and ㅡ drops: 커요. 작다 is 작아요 because the last vowel is ㅏ.
Do I need the receipt?
For 교환, yes, in most shops. Bring 영수증. Say 어제 샀어요, 사이즈가 안 맞아요. Whether they accept it is their policy, not a grammar rule.
Practice & questions
Try a sentence with an expression from this lesson, or ask about anything you are still unsure of.
Guest comments appear after review. Existing member comments remain attached to their accounts.