3.5 Shopping, Ordering Food, Household Chores, Clothing, and Housing

3.5 Shopping, Ordering Food, Household Chores, Clothing, and Housing

The official revised EPS-TOPIK curriculum devotes everyday-life units to ordering food (음식 주문), shopping (물건 구입), household chores (집안일), clothing (옷차림), finding housing (집 구하기), and cooking (요리). These topics test whether you can complete an ordinary transaction and understand a picture, receipt, menu, advertisement, or short dialogue.

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1. Shopping: Asking, Comparing, and Paying

A shopping exchange normally follows four steps: identify the item, ask the price or size, choose a quantity, and pay.

Read labels precisely: 가격 is price, 수량 quantity, 단가 unit price, 합계 total, 할인 discount, and 품절 sold out. A sign saying 1+1 means two qualifying items for the promotional price, not one item at half price. 현금 is cash, 카드 is card, and 계좌이체 is bank transfer.

Counters must match the object: apples can be 세 개, bottled water 두 병, shirts 한 벌, paper towels 네 롤, and socks 두 켤레. When a receipt shows unit price and quantity, calculate 단가 × 수량 before comparing the answer choices.

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2. Ordering Food

Useful restaurant nouns include 메뉴판 (menu), 반찬 (side dishes), 공깃밥 (bowl of rice), 국/찌개 (soup/stew), 맵다 (spicy), 싱겁다 (bland), and 알레르기 (allergy). Common requests are:

• 비빔밥 한 그릇 주세요. — One bowl of bibimbap, please.
• 안 맵게 해 주세요. — Please make it not spicy.
• 돼지고기는 빼 주세요. — Please leave out the pork.
• 여기서 먹을게요. / 포장해 주세요. — I will eat here. / Please pack it to go.
• 반찬을 더 주실 수 있어요? — Could you give me more side dishes?
• 계산서 주세요. — Please bring the bill.

Distinguish 드시다 (honorific “eat”), 먹다 (eat), 마시다 (drink), 주문하다 (order), 담다 (put into a container), and 포장하다 (package/take out). A listening item may ask what the customer changes: quantity, spice level, ingredient, or dine-in/takeout status. Write down only the changed detail.

Food-preparation verbs also appear in workplace and home contexts: 씻다 wash, 썰다 slice, 다지다 mince, 볶다 stir-fry, 굽다 grill/bake, 삶다 boil, and 튀기다 deep-fry. A refrigerator notice may use 냉장 보관 (keep refrigerated), 냉동 보관 (keep frozen), 유통기한 (use-by/distribution date), and 상하다 (spoil).

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3. Household Chores and Problems

Picture questions often show one clear action:

Use -고 있다 for an action visibly in progress: 남자가 설거지를 하고 있습니다. Use -아/어 놓다 for a completed action whose result remains: 창문을 열어 놓았습니다. For a problem report, name the object, condition, and request: 싱크대에서 물이 새요. 확인해 주세요 (Water is leaking from the sink. Please check it).

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4. Clothing and Finding a House

Clothing vocabulary is tested through weather, workplace rules, and shopping. 입다 goes with clothes, 신다 with shoes or socks, 쓰다 with hats and some protective headgear, and 끼다 with gloves. Sizes include 작다/크다 (small/large), 짧다/길다 (short/long), and 맞다 (fit).

Housing advertisements compress information. Learn 월세 (monthly rent), 보증금 (deposit), 관리비 (management fee), 공과금 (utilities), 방 한 칸 (one room), 가구 완비 (furnished), 회사와 가깝다 (near the company), and 교통이 편리하다 (convenient transport). Do not add rent and deposit as if both were monthly expenses. The deposit is normally a separate amount returned subject to the contract; monthly rent and management fees recur.

A useful viewing dialogue is:

세입자: 보증금과 월세가 얼마예요? 관리비에 수도 요금도 포함돼요?
중개인: 보증금은 오백만 원이고 월세는 사십만 원입니다. 수도 요금은 관리비에 포함되지만 전기와 가스는 따로 내야 합니다.

The correct interpretation is: deposit 5,000,000 won, monthly rent 400,000 won, water included in the management charge, electricity and gas separate. Reading each payment category prevents a common numerical trap.

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5. Grammar That Connects the Transaction

Use -아/어 주세요 for a polite request, -(으)ㄹ게요 for the speaker's choice or intention, and -고 싶다 for a desire. Compare:

• 작은 것으로 바꿔 주세요. — Please exchange it for a smaller one.
• 카드로 계산할게요. — I will pay by card.
• 방을 한번 보고 싶어요. — I would like to see the room.

In a short dialogue, the correct response must satisfy both the noun and the communicative function. A cashier's 봉투가 필요하세요? asks whether a bag is needed; a sensible response is 네, 하나 주세요, not an unrelated statement about the weather.