Booking a Hotel

Korean Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 11 Β· Booking a Hotel

🏨 Booking a Hotel β€” ν˜Έν…” μ˜ˆμ•½

In this chapter you learn to check in with a booking, ask whether a room is free, say how many nights you are staying, choose a room type, and ask about breakfast, Wi-Fi and check-out. You will also meet two typically Korean places to stay: the ν•œμ˜₯ (traditional house) and the 온돌 (heated-floor) room.

eo = γ…“ (short, open "uh") eu = γ…‘ (unrounded "oo") ae = ㅐ (like the vowel in "bed") [ ] = how the word is actually said, where it differs from the spelling

β‘  Checking In β€” μ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄μš”

μ†λ‹˜: μ•ˆλ…•ν•˜μ„Έμš”. 체크인 ν•˜λ €κ³  ν•˜λŠ”λ°μš”. Annyeonghaseyo. Chekeuin haryeogo haneundeyo. Hello. I'd like to check in.
직원: λ„€, μ˜ˆμ•½ν•˜μ…¨μ–΄μš”? Ne, yeyakhasyeosseoyo? Yes, have you made a booking?
μ†λ‹˜: λ„€, μ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄μš”. 이름은 μŠ€λ―ΈμŠ€μ˜ˆμš”. Ne, yeyakhaesseoyo. Ireumeun seumiseuyeyo. Yes, I've booked. The name is Smith.
직원: μž μ‹œλ§Œ κΈ°λ‹€λ € μ£Όμ„Έμš”. Jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo. Please wait a moment.

β‘‘ No Booking β€” λ°© μžˆμ–΄μš”?

μ†λ‹˜: μ˜ˆμ•½ μ•ˆ ν–ˆμ–΄μš”. 였늘 λ°© μžˆμ–΄μš”? Yeyak an haesseoyo. Oneul bang isseoyo? I haven't booked. Do you have a room tonight?
직원: λ„€, μžˆμ–΄μš”. λ©°μΉ  λ¬΅μœΌμ‹€ κ±°μ˜ˆμš”? Ne, isseoyo. Myeochil mugeusil geoyeyo? Yes, we do. How many days will you stay?
μ†λ‹˜: 이 λ°•μ΄μš”. μ‹±κΈ€λ£Έ ν•˜λ‚˜ μ£Όμ„Έμš”. I bagiyo. Singgullum hana juseyo. Two nights. A single room, please.

β‘’ Room Type β€” μ˜¨λŒλ°©λ„ μžˆμ–΄μš”?

μ†λ‹˜: μ˜¨λŒλ°©λ„ μžˆμ–΄μš”? Ondolbangdo isseoyo? Do you have a heated-floor room too?
직원: λ„€, μžˆμ–΄μš”. μΉ¨λŒ€ λ°©κ³Ό 온돌방 쀑에 μ–΄λ–€ 방이 μ’‹μœΌμ„Έμš”? Ne, isseoyo. Chimdae banggwa ondolbang junge eotteon bangi joeuseyo? Yes. Which would you prefer, a bed room or a heated-floor room?
μ†λ‹˜: 온돌방으둜 ν• κ²Œμš”. Ondolbangeuro halgeyo. I'll take the heated-floor room.

β‘£ Breakfast and Wi-Fi β€” μ•„μΉ¨ 식사 ν¬ν•¨μ΄μ—μš”?

μ†λ‹˜: μ•„μΉ¨ 식사 ν¬ν•¨μ΄μ—μš”? Achim siksa pohamieyo? Is breakfast included?
직원: λ„€, 일곱 μ‹œλΆ€ν„° μ—΄ μ‹œκΉŒμ§€μ˜ˆμš”. 일 μΈ΅ μ‹λ‹Ήμ΄μ—μš”. Ne, ilgop sibuteo yeol sikkajiyeyo. Il cheung sikdang-ieyo. Yes, from 7 to 10. It's the restaurant on the ground floor.
μ†λ‹˜: μ™€μ΄νŒŒμ΄ λΉ„λ°€λ²ˆν˜Έκ°€ λ­μ˜ˆμš”? Waipai bimilbeonhoga mwoyeyo? What's the Wi-Fi password?

β‘€ Check-out (formal) β€” 체크아웃 ν•˜κ² μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€

μ†λ‹˜: 체크아웃 ν•˜κ² μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ—΄μ‡  μ—¬κΈ° μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. Chekeuaut hagetseumnida. Yeolsoe yeogi itseumnida. I'd like to check out. Here is the key.
직원: κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. 방은 μ–΄λ– μ…¨μŠ΅λ‹ˆκΉŒ? Gamsahamnida. Bangeun eotteosyeotseumnikka? Thank you. How was your room?
μ†λ‹˜: μ•„μ£Ό μ’‹μ•˜μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. Aju joatseumnida. Gamsahamnida. It was very good. Thank you.

β‘₯ Two Friends (casual) β€” ν•œμ˜₯ μ–΄λ•Œ?

A: 이번 μ—¬ν–‰ ν•œμ˜₯μ—μ„œ 잘까? Ibeon yeohaeng hanogeseo jalkka? Shall we stay in a hanok for this trip?
B: μ’‹μ•„! 온돌방이 λ”°λœ»ν•˜κ³  μ’‹λŒ€. Joa! Ondolbangi ttatteuthago jotdae. Sure! I hear the heated-floor rooms are warm and nice.
A: 그럼 λ‚΄κ°€ μ˜ˆμ•½ν• κ²Œ. Geureom naega yeyakhalge. Then I'll book it.

πŸ—οΈ Key Phrases β€” μ€‘μš”ν•œ ν‘œν˜„

SituationPoliteCasual
I'd like to check in체크인 ν•˜λ €κ³  ν•˜λŠ”λ°μš” / 체크인 ν•˜κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš”
chekeuin haryeogo haneundeyo / chekeuin hago sipeoyo		체크인 ν• λž˜
chekeuin hallae
I have a bookingμ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄μš”
yeyakhaesseoyo		μ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄
yeyakhaesseo
Booked under [name]μ˜ˆμ•½ν•œ [이름]μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€
yeyakhan [name] imnida		(not used)
Do you have a room?λ°© μžˆμ–΄μš”?
bang isseoyo?		λ°© μžˆμ–΄?
bang isseo?
The key, pleaseμ—΄μ‡  μ£Όμ„Έμš”
yeolsoe juseyo		μ—΄μ‡  쀘
yeolsoe jwo
I'd like to check out체크아웃 ν•˜κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš”
chekeuaut hago sipeoyo		체크아웃 ν• λž˜
chekeuaut hallae
Please wait a momentμž μ‹œλ§Œ κΈ°λ‹€λ € μ£Όμ„Έμš”
jamsiman gidaryeo juseyo		잠깐만 κΈ°λ‹€λ €
jamkkanman gidaryeo

πŸŒ™ Counting Nights β€” λ°•

A hotel stay is counted in nights with the counter λ°•, using Sino-Korean numbers: 일 λ°• (1 night), 이 λ°• (2 nights), μ‚Ό λ°• (3 nights). Trips are often written as nights and days: 이 λ°• μ‚Ό 일 (2 nights, 3 days), the standard way to say a short break.

StayKoreanSay it
1 night일 λ°•il bak
2 nights이 λ°•i bak
3 nightsμ‚Ό λ°•sam bak
5 nights였 λ°•o bak
2 nights, 3 days이 λ°• μ‚Ό 일i bak sam il

πŸ›οΈ Rooms and Places to Stay β€” λ°©, μˆ™μ†Œ

EnglishKoreanSay it
single roomμ‹±κΈ€λ£Έsing-geul-lum
double room더블룸deo-beul-lum
twin room트윈룸teu-win-rum
heated-floor room (ondol)온돌방on-dol-bang
traditional Korean houseν•œμ˜₯ha-nok
guesthouseκ²ŒμŠ€νŠΈν•˜μš°μŠ€ge-seu-teu-ha-u-seu
hotelν˜Έν…”ho-tel

πŸ”€ Three Verbs You Can Already Use β€” 동사

VerbEveryday polite (-μš”)Formal (-γ…‚λ‹ˆλ‹€)Casual
to book (μ˜ˆμ•½ν•˜λ‹€)μ˜ˆμ•½ν•΄μš”
yeyakhaeyo		μ˜ˆμ•½ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€
yeyakhamnida		μ˜ˆμ•½ν•΄
yeyakhae
to wait (기닀리닀)κΈ°λ‹€λ €μš”
gidaryeoyo		κΈ°λ‹€λ¦½λ‹ˆλ‹€
gidarimnida		κΈ°λ‹€λ €
gidaryeo
to stay; to sleep (묡닀 / μžλ‹€)λ¬΅μ–΄μš” / μžμš”
mugeoyo / jayo		λ¬΅μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€ / μž‘λ‹ˆλ‹€
mukseumnida / jamnida		묡어 / 자
mugeo / ja

πŸ“– Vocabulary β€” μ–΄νœ˜

#KoreanSay itEnglishType
1μ˜ˆμ•½ye-yakreservation; bookingnoun
2체크인che-keu-incheck-innoun
3체크아웃che-keu-a-utcheck-outnoun
4λ°©bangroomnoun
5λ°•baknight (of a stay)counter
6이름i-reumnamenoun
7μ—΄μ‡ yeol-soekeynoun
8μΉ¨λŒ€chim-daebednoun
9μ•„μΉ¨ 식사a-chim sik-ssabreakfastnoun
10포함po-hamincludednoun
11μ™€μ΄νŒŒμ΄wa-i-pa-iWi-Finoun
12λΉ„λ°€λ²ˆν˜Έbi-mil-beon-hopasswordnoun
13μΈ΅cheungfloor; storeycounter
14짐jimluggage; baggagenoun
15μ˜ˆμ•½ν•˜λ‹€ye-yak-ha-dato bookverb
16기닀리닀gi-da-ri-dato waitverb
17묡닀muk-ttato stay (overnight)verb
18μžλ‹€ja-dato sleepverb
19λ”°λœ»ν•˜λ‹€tta-tteu-ta-dato be warmadj.
20μž μ‹œλ§Œjam-si-manjust a momentadverb
Checking In Staff expect the polite -μš” or formal -γ…‚λ‹ˆλ‹€ endings. The simplest check-in line is 체크인 ν•˜κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš” ("I want to check in"); 체크인 ν•˜λ €κ³  ν•˜λŠ”λ°μš” sounds softer. Then give your booking: μ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄μš” ("I've booked") and μ˜ˆμ•½ν•œ [name]μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. The ending -λŠ”λ°μš” trails off politely, inviting the other person to answer. If you have no booking, 였늘 λ°© μžˆμ–΄μš”? works ("have you a room today?").
Hanok and Ondol A ν•œμ˜₯ is a traditional Korean house, and many are now guesthouses. The traditional 온돌 system heats the floor, so an 온돌방 is a room where you sleep on a mattress on the warm floor rather than in a bed. Many hotels offer both types, so you can ask 온돌방 μžˆμ–΄μš”?. A κ²ŒμŠ€νŠΈν•˜μš°μŠ€ is the modern budget guesthouse; the older word μ—¬κ΄€ means a cheap inn and is not quite the same thing.
As Heard in Dramas β€” λ“œλΌλ§ˆμ—μ„œ Drama characters on a trip often say μ—¬ν–‰ κ°€μž! ("let's go on a trip!") and λ°© ν•˜λ‚˜ 더 μž‘μ•„ 쀘 ("book one more room"). A hanok stay is a favourite romantic scene, and you will hear 이 λ°• μ‚Ό 일 for a short trip. Staff always use polite forms, while the friends talk casually to each other.
Grammar Pointer The past tense in μ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄μš” (-μ•˜/μ—ˆμ–΄μš”) is covered in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 7; the wish pattern -κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš” and the polite requests with -μ„Έμš” in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 10; and Sino-Korean numbers with counters such as λ°• in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 9.

✍️ Try It Yourself β€” μ—°μŠ΅

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say "I'd like to check in. I've booked."

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체크인 ν•˜κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš”. μ˜ˆμ•½ν–ˆμ–΄μš”.

2. Ask if they have a room tonight.

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였늘 λ°© μžˆμ–΄μš”?

3. Say you want a double room for three nights.

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μ‚Ό λ°•, 더블룸 ν•˜λ‚˜ μ£Όμ„Έμš”.

4. Ask whether breakfast is included.

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μ•„μΉ¨ 식사 ν¬ν•¨μ΄μ—μš”?

5. Ask for the Wi-Fi password.

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μ™€μ΄νŒŒμ΄ λΉ„λ°€λ²ˆν˜Έκ°€ λ­μ˜ˆμš”?

6. Say "I'd like to check out. Here's the key."

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체크아웃 ν•˜κ³  μ‹Άμ–΄μš”. μ—΄μ‡  μ—¬κΈ° μžˆμ–΄μš”.