KONGLE
Taxi
Address a taxi driver politely, tell them your destination, ask them to stop, and check the fare.
Use this the moment you get in the taxi, before giving your destination — it signals you're ready to talk and gets the driver's attention.
Why? 기사님: the polite way to address your driver
기사님 is how you address a taxi driver (or bus driver) — 기사 means 'driver,' and 님 is an honorific suffix Koreans attach to titles to show respect, the same way you'd hear 사장님 for a shop owner or boss. Say 기사님! to get your driver's attention, the way you'd say 'excuse me' or 'driver' in English. It's always polite, never overly formal.
~까지 가 주세요: 'please go to [destination]'
까지 means 'up to/as far as,' and 가 주세요 means 'please go' — the same 주세요 pattern you learned for ordering food in Unit 3. Attach 까지 가 주세요 right after any place name to tell a taxi driver exactly where you want to go: 공항까지 가 주세요 ('please go to the airport'). It works for addresses, landmarks, and neighborhood names alike.
홍대 (Hongdae) is a popular neighborhood name, but you can swap in any destination — a landmark, a subway station, or a full address.
공항 means 'airport.' This exact phrase is one of the most valuable sentences a traveler can memorize.
Ending the ride: 여기서 세워 주세요 and 얼마 나왔어요?
When you've arrived, say 여기서 세워 주세요 ('please stop here') — 세우다 means 'to stop [a vehicle],' using the same 주세요 request pattern. To find out the fare before paying, ask 얼마 나왔어요? ('how much did it come to?') — literally 'how much came out,' referring to the total on the meter.
Say this a moment before you actually want to stop, since the driver needs time to pull over safely.
You already know 얼마예요? ('how much is it?') from Unit 2 — 얼마 나왔어요? is the version specific to a taxi meter or finished bill.
Kakao T exists, but these phrases still matter
Many people in Korea now book taxis through the Kakao T app, which handles the destination and fare automatically. But you'll still need these phrases for street-hailed taxis, for confirming your stop with the driver, or any time the app isn't working. Knowing how to talk to a 기사님 directly is a survival skill an app can't fully replace.
A full taxi ride, from getting in to paying at the end
Why the staff sound more formal than you
You just used 해요체, but the staff answered with 알겠습니다 — that's 합쇼체, the formal style. Service staff in Korea use it with customers to show respect. You don't need to reply in kind; 해요체 is exactly right for you here.
Say it out loud
Listen, then repeat aloud. Matching the rhythm matters more than perfection.
Check yourself
This lesson went through an AI-assisted review. It has not yet been reviewed by a certified teacher.