Clarifying Dietary Restrictions at a Restaurant | Learn Korean in English

Sentence explanations

1. 한 손님에게 식이 제한이 있어서 주문하기 전에 분명한 정보가 필요해요.

   One guest has a dietary restriction, so we need clear information before ordering.

   한 손님에게

   for one guest

   식이 제한

   dietary restriction

   있어서

   because there is

   주문하기 전에

   before ordering

   분명한

   clear

   정보

   information

   필요해요

   is needed

   More detail

   한 손님에게: 한 is the form of 하나 used before a noun, meaning “one”; 손님 means “guest” or “customer.” The particle 에게 can mark a person who has something with 있다, so this part presents one guest as the person concerned. Example: 손님에게 질문이 있어요. — “The guest has a question.” 식이 제한: 식이 relates to diet, and 제한 means a restriction or limitation. Together they form the reusable noun phrase “dietary restriction.” Example: 식이 제한을 알려 주세요. — “Please tell me your dietary restriction.” 있어서: This is 있다 (“to exist” or “to have”) plus the connective ending -어서. Here it says that a dietary restriction exists for the guest and connects that fact as the reason for what follows: “because there is” or “because [the guest] has.” The subject or possessor is understood from 한 손님에게; 있어서 itself does not mark a new person. Example: 시간이 없어서 택시를 탔어요. — “Because I had no time, I took a taxi.” 주문하기 전에: 주문하다 means “to order.” Its noun-like form 주문하기 combines with 전에 (“before”) to make the pattern [verb stem/verb form + 기 전에], meaning “before doing something.” Example: 먹기 전에 손을 씻어요. — “I wash my hands before eating.” 분명한: 분명하다 means “to be clear” or “to be definite.” 분명한 is its form before a noun, so it directly describes 정보. Compare 분명해요 (“it is clear”) with 분명한 정보 (“clear information”); the adjective changes form because it is attributive here, not because 정보 has a particular gender or number. 정보: This noun means “information.” In 분명한 정보, it refers to information that is clear enough to understand or use. Example: 정확한 정보가 필요해요. — “Accurate information is needed.” 필요해요: 필요하다 means “to be necessary” or “to be needed,” and 필요해요 is its polite 해요-style form. Korean commonly uses 필요하다 with the needed thing marked by 이/가: 정보가 필요해요 means “Information is needed” or, naturally in context, “We need information.” The sentence does not explicitly state the subject “we”; that participant is supplied by the fixed translation and situation. Example: 도움이 필요해요. — “I need help” or “Help is needed,” depending on context. Together, 한 손님에게 식이 제한이 있어서 gives the reason: one guest has a dietary restriction. 주문하기 전에 sets the time: before ordering. 분명한 정보가 필요해요 states the need for clear information. The whole utterance therefore means: “One guest has a dietary restriction, so we need clear information before ordering.”

2. 재료를 목록으로 정리해 드릴 수 있어요.

   We can list the ingredients.

   재료

   ingredients

   목록

   list

   정리해

   organize; arrange

   드릴 수 있어요

   can do or provide for you

   More detail

   재료 means “ingredients” here. It is a noun, and 재료를 marks it as the thing being organized: the object particle 를 follows this noun because it ends in a vowel. Example: 재료를 확인해요. — “I check the ingredients.” 목록 means “list.” In 목록으로, 으로 presents the list as the format or result: “into/as a list.” After a noun ending in a consonant, 으로 is used; after a vowel, the related form is 로 (with a special spelling rule after ㄹ). Example: 내용을 목록으로 만들어요. — “I make the information into a list.” 정리해 is the connective form of 정리하다, “to organize” or “to arrange.” It connects this action to what follows: 정리하다 → 정리해. In this sentence, the organizing consists of putting the ingredients into a list. Example: 자료를 정리해요. — “I organize the materials.” 드릴 수 있어요 expresses ability or possibility in a service-oriented polite way. 드리다 is the humble form of “to give” or “to do” when the action is offered to someone; 드릴 is its form before 수, and 수 있어요 means “can” or “is possible.” Thus, the wording politely presents the speaker as able to do this for the listener. It is not simply the ordinary ability expression 할 수 있어요; 드리다 adds the respectful service-to-another-person nuance. Example: 확인해 드릴 수 있어요. — “I can check it for you.” Together, 재료를 marks the ingredients as the object, 목록으로 specifies a list as the format, and 정리해 드릴 수 있어요 says that the speaker can organize them in that way as a polite service. The whole utterance means: “We can list the ingredients.”

3. 하지만 준비 공간을 함께 사용한다는 점은 말씀드려야 해요.

   But I should mention that the prep areas are shared.

   하지만

   but

   준비 공간

   prep area(s)

   함께

   together

   사용한다는 점은

   the fact of using

   말씀드려야 해요

   must mention

   More detail

   하지만 means “but” and marks a contrast with what came before. It is a conjunction placed at the beginning here; for example, 비싸요. 하지만 필요해요. means “It’s expensive. But it’s necessary.” 준비 공간 means “prep area” or “preparation space.” 준비 means “preparation,” and 공간 means “space/area”; Korean does not require a plural ending here, so the translation’s “areas” is compatible with the singular-looking Korean noun phrase. The noun phrase is the object marked by 을 in the following clause. 함께 means “together,” indicating that the use is shared rather than separate. Example: 우리는 방을 함께 사용해요. means “We use the room together.” 사용한다는 점은 contains the verb 사용하다, “to use,” in the form 사용한다, followed by 다는 점, “the fact that …,” and the topic/contrast marker 은. The pattern V-ㄴ/는다는 점 turns a proposition into a noun-like expression: 함께 사용한다는 점 means “the fact that [people] use it together.” The subject is omitted in the Korean sentence; the fixed translation supports the intended shared-use meaning without specifying an additional participant. The phrase as a whole is presented as the topic: “as for the fact that it is shared …” 말씀드려야 해요 expresses the need to mention something. Its base verb is 말씀드리다, a deferential form meaning “to tell” or “to mention” to someone; it is not the same as simply using a neutral verb for “say.” The ending -어야 하다 expresses necessity, so 말씀드려야 해요 means “have to/should mention.” 해요 is the polite present form of 하다 in this construction. The omitted subject is understood as the speaker in the fixed translation, yielding “I should mention.” Putting the parts together, 하지만 introduces a contrast, 준비 공간을 함께 사용한다는 점 identifies the fact being raised, and 말씀드려야 해요 says that the speaker should mention it. The complete meaning is: “But I should mention that the prep areas are shared.”

4. 도움이 되네요. 손님이 어느 정도의 위험을 허용할 수 있는지 결정할 수 있겠어요.

   That helps; the guest can decide what level of risk is acceptable.

   도움이 되네요

   That helps

   손님

   guest

   어느 정도의

   what level of

   위험

   risk

   허용할 수 있는지

   whether [someone] can allow

   결정할 수 있겠어요

   can decide

   More detail

   도움이 되네요 means “That helps” here. 도움 is “help,” and 도움이 되다 is the reusable pattern “to be helpful” (literally, “to become help”). The particle 이 marks 도움 as the subject of 되다; 네요 adds the speaker’s noticing or realization in a polite tone. Example: 이 설명이 도움이 되네요. — “This explanation is helpful.” 손님 means “guest” in this sentence; depending on context, it can also mean “customer.” It is followed by 이, marking it as the subject of the following ability-and-decision expression. The fixed translation identifies the guest as the person who can decide. 어느 정도의 asks about a degree or level: 어느 정도 is “to what extent” or “what level,” and 의 connects that expression to the noun it modifies. Here it modifies 위험, so the phrase asks about the level of risk, not about a separate object. Example: 어느 정도의 도움이 필요하세요? — “What level of help do you need?” 위험 means “risk” or “danger.” In this sentence it is the thing whose acceptable level is being considered. Example: 이 일에는 위험이 있습니다. — “There is risk in this work.” 허용할 수 있는지 expresses “whether [someone] can allow or accept [it].” The base verb is 허용하다, “to permit” or “to allow.” -ㄹ 수 있다 presents ability or possibility, and -는지 turns the clause into an embedded question meaning “whether.” The omitted subject is understood from the sentence’s meaning as the guest, while the object of accepting is the level of risk. Example: 이 조건을 허용할 수 있는지 확인해 주세요. — “Please check whether it can be accepted under these conditions.” 결정할 수 있겠어요 means “can decide” here. 결정하다 is “to decide”; -ㄹ 수 있다 marks ability or possibility; and polite -겠어요 presents the speaker’s assessment or expectation in a softened way. The base verb carrying the decision meaning is 결정하다, not 수 or 겠어요. Example: 이제 선택을 결정할 수 있겠어요. — “Now you should be able to make the choice.” Together, 손님이 marks the guest as the decision-maker. 어느 정도의 위험을 허용할 수 있는지 is the embedded question, “what level of risk the guest can accept,” and 결정할 수 있겠어요 says that the guest can decide it, with a polite, somewhat tentative assessment. The whole utterance therefore means: “That helps; the guest can decide what level of risk is acceptable.”

5. 추측하는 대신 주방에 각 구성 요소를 하나씩 확인해 달라고 하겠습니다.

   I'll ask the kitchen to check each component instead of guessing.

   추측하는

   guessing

   대신

   instead

   주방에

   to the kitchen

   각

   each

   구성 요소

   component

   하나씩

   one by one

   확인해

   check

   달라고 하겠습니다

   I’ll ask someone to do it

   More detail

   추측하는 comes from 추측하다, “to guess” or “to infer.” The ending -는 makes the verb modify the following noun 대신 in the pattern V-는 대신(에), meaning “instead of doing V.” Example: 기다리는 대신 전화할게요. — “I’ll call instead of waiting.” 대신 means “instead,” and after a verb in V-는 대신(에) it sets up an alternative action. Here, the alternative is checking the components rather than guessing. The negative alternative is commonly expressed with V-지 않고, but that is a different pattern. 주방에 uses -에 to mark a destination or target. In this sentence, 주방 means “the kitchen,” understood in the translation as the kitchen team or department being asked. The particle 에 does not itself mean “to ask”; the asking meaning comes from the following request construction. 각 means “each” and identifies the members of a relevant set individually. It does not by itself state how many components there are. 구성 요소 is the noun phrase “component” or “component part”: 구성 relates to composition, and 요소 means an element or component. Example: 각 구성 요소를 확인하세요. — “Check each component.” 하나씩 means “one by one” or “one each.” The suffix -씩 distributes an action across items or steps. Together, 각 구성 요소를 하나씩 means that every component is checked individually, rather than treated as one undivided group. 확인해 is the -아/어 form of 확인하다, “to check” or “verify.” This form connects the lexical verb to the request expression that follows. Example: 목록을 확인해 주세요. — “Please check the list.” 달라고 하겠습니다 expresses “I will ask someone to do it.” In the pattern V-아/어 달라고 하다, 달라고 reports a request for someone to do an action for the requester or according to the requester’s need; here, 확인해 달라고 means “to ask [them] to check.” 하겠습니다 is a polite first-person intention or commitment, so the speaker says they will make that request. The person being asked is not separately named in the Korean sentence; 주방에 identifies the request’s target. Putting the parts together: 추측하는 대신 means “instead of guessing,” 주방에 marks the kitchen as the target of the request, and 각 구성 요소를 하나씩 확인해 달라고 하겠습니다 means “I will ask them to check each component one by one.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I’ll ask the kitchen to check each component instead of guessing.”

6. 소스와 토핑도 포함해 주세요. 그런 것들은 놓치기 쉽거든요.

   Please include sauces and toppings too, since those are easy to miss.

   소스

   sauce

   토핑

   topping

   포함해 주세요

   please include

   그런 것들

   those things

   놓치기

   missing; overlooking

   쉽

   easy

   More detail

   소스 means “sauce,” and 토핑 means “topping.” Korean commonly joins nouns with 와/과: 소스와 토핑 means “sauces and toppings” here. The form 도 adds “also/too,” so 소스와 토핑도 asks that these items be included in addition to what was already being discussed. The nouns themselves do not show English-style plural marking here; the context supplies the intended plural reading. 포함해 주세요 is a reusable polite request meaning “please include.” The verb is 포함하다 (“to include”); 포함해 is its -해 form, followed by 주세요 (“please do it for me/us”). Pattern: 동사-아/어 주세요 politely asks someone to carry out an action. For example, 이 내용도 확인해 주세요 means “Please check this content too.” 그런 것들은 means “those things” in this sentence. 그런 is a modifier meaning “such/those kind of,” and 것들 is the plural form of 것 (“thing”); 은 marks the phrase as the topic. The supplied translation and context identify these things as the sauces and toppings just mentioned. 은/는 sets a topic and can contrast it with other information; it does not itself identify the referent. 놓치기 comes from the verb 놓치다, “to miss” or “overlook.” Here -기 changes the verb into a noun-like form so it can combine with 쉽다: 놓치기 쉽다 means “be easy to miss.” The observed form is not a past tense; it is the -기 form of 놓치다. For example, 작은 글씨는 놓치기 쉬워요 means “Small print is easy to miss.” 쉽 is the stem of the adjective 쉽다, “easy.” In 놓치기 쉽다, it describes the ease of the preceding action, rather than directly describing the sauces or toppings. With the explanatory ending -거든요, 쉽거든요 gives the reason in a conversational way: “because they are easy to miss.” 쉽다 is an irregular ㅂ adjective in some vowel-initial forms, such as 쉬워요, but before the consonant-initial ending -거든요 the observed form is 쉽거든요. Together, 소스와 토핑도 포함해 주세요 says “Please include the sauces and toppings too.” The second sentence, 그런 것들은 놓치기 쉽거든요, explains why: “Those things are easy to miss.” The whole utterance therefore requests that sauces and toppings be included and gives their tendency to be overlooked as the reason.

7. 주방에서 그것들도 따로 확인하도록 하겠습니다.

   I'll make sure they check those separately.

   주방

   kitchen

   그것들도

   those too

   따로

   separately

   확인하도록 하겠습니다

   will make sure to check

   More detail

   주방에서 means “in the kitchen” or “at the kitchen work area.” 주방 is “kitchen,” and the particle 에서 marks the place where an action takes place. Example: 주방에서 요리해요. — “I cook in the kitchen.” 그것들도 means “those things too.” It consists of 그것들 (“those things”) plus 도 (“also/too”). In the supplied context, it refers to the previously mentioned items and adds them to what will be checked. 도 replaces the particle that would otherwise mark the item, so 그것들도 means “those things too,” not simply “those things.” 따로 means “separately” or “individually.” It describes the manner of the checking: the items will be checked apart from other items. Example: 이 서류는 따로 보관하세요. — “Keep this document separately.” 확인하도록 하겠습니다 is a polite commitment built from 확인하다 (“to check/confirm”) and -도록 하다 (“make sure that someone does something” or “arrange for something to happen”), followed by 하겠습니다, a formal polite form expressing intention or commitment. Thus, in this sentence, the speaker commits to making sure that the checking happens; the construction does not require the speaker to be the person who performs the checking. Example: 직원에게 다시 확인하도록 하겠습니다. — “I’ll make sure the staff check again.” Together, 주방에서 sets the location, 그것들도 adds the previously mentioned items, 따로 specifies separate checking, and 확인하도록 하겠습니다 expresses the speaker’s polite commitment to ensure that they are checked. The whole utterance means: “I’ll make sure they check those separately in the kitchen.”

8. 그러면 손님에게 부담을 주지 않고 모두가 주문할 수 있겠네요.

   Then everyone can order without putting pressure on the guest.

   그러면

   then; in that case

   손님

   guest

   부담

   burden; pressure

   주지 않고

   without giving; without causing

   모두

   everyone; all

   주문할

   order

   수 있겠네요

   can; it seems possible

   More detail

   그러면 means “then” or “in that case.” It links the utterance to a condition or result just established: “If that is so, then …” It is a useful way to introduce a consequence, not simply a word for chronological time. 손님 is the noun “guest” or “customer,” depending on the situation. In 손님에게, the particle -에게 marks the person affected by an action or to whom something is given; here, the guest is the person who could feel the burden. 손님 itself does not mark number or gender. 부담 means a burden or pressure, especially something that feels demanding or uncomfortable for someone. Korean commonly uses 부담을 주다, literally “give a burden,” for “put pressure on someone” or “make someone feel burdened.” In this sentence, 부담 is the object marked by -을. 주지 않고 comes from 주다 (“to give”) with the negative connective pattern -지 않고: “without giving” or “without causing.” Here it completes the collocation 부담을 주다, so 부담을 주지 않고 means “without putting pressure on [someone].” The pattern A-지 않고 B connects two actions and says that B happens without doing A. Example: 말하지 않고 나갔어요. — “I left without speaking.” 모두 means “everyone” when it refers to people, and “all” when it refers to things or a group more generally. Here it is the subject of the ordering action, as confirmed by the fixed translation. It does not itself state a particular number of people. 주문할 is the attributive form of the verb 주문하다, “to order.” The ending -ㄹ here makes the verb modify the following noun-like element 수 in the possibility pattern V-(으)ㄹ 수 있다: 주문할 수 있다, “can order.” The form is not a separate verb meaning “order”; its base form is 주문하다. 수 있겠네요 completes the possibility expression. 수 있다 expresses that an action is possible or can be done; after 주문할, it gives 주문할 수 있다, “can order.” In this utterance, -겠네요 presents that possibility as a conclusion or realization, with -네요 giving it a conversational, responsive tone. Thus 주문할 수 있겠네요 is naturally “it looks like [they] can order” or, in the fixed translation, “can order.” This is not the ordinary past or present inflection of 주문하다; 주문할 is the form required before 수. Putting the parts together, 그러면 introduces the result: “Then/in that case.” 모두가 marks everyone as the subject, while 손님에게 부담을 주지 않고 says that this happens without putting pressure on the guest. Finally, 주문할 수 있겠네요 expresses the resulting possibility. The whole utterance is therefore: “Then everyone can order without putting pressure on the guest.”

9. 세부 사항을 확인하면 다시 와서 그 내용을 하나씩 설명해 드리겠습니다.

   Once I have the details, I'll come back and walk you through them.

   세부 사항

   details

   확인하면

   once (I) confirm

   다시 와서

   come back and

   그 내용

   that content

   하나씩

   one by one

   설명해 드리겠습니다

   I will explain (for you)

   More detail

   세부 사항 means “details” here. 사항 is a noun for an item, matter, or point, and 세부 specifies detailed points. Together, 세부 사항을 is the object “the details,” with 을 marking the object of 확인하다. 확인하면 comes from 확인하다 (“to check; confirm”) plus -면, which expresses a condition such as “when” or “once.” In this sentence, the understood subject is the speaker, matching the fixed translation. The pattern A-면 B can be reused for “when/if A, B.” Example: 시간이 되면 연락하겠습니다. — “When I have time, I will contact you.” 다시 와서 combines 다시 (“again”) with 오다 (“to come”) in the connective form 와서. 오다 changes to 와 before -서; 와서 links this action to the next one, giving “come again and …” or, in this context, “come back and ….” Example: 내일 다시 와서 확인할게요. — “I’ll come back tomorrow and check.” 그 내용 means “that content” and refers here to the details mentioned in the sentence, matching “them” in the fixed translation. 그 is a demonstrative modifier, while 내용 is the noun “content” or “details.” 그 does not itself identify a person or grammatical gender. With a different noun, for example, 그 계획 means “that plan.” In the full phrase 그 내용을, 을 marks this noun phrase as the object of 설명하다. 하나씩 means “one by one.” It is formed from 하나 (“one”) and the distributive particle -씩, which indicates handling items individually. Example: 질문에 하나씩 답해 주세요. — “Please answer the questions one by one.” Here, 답하다 takes the particle 에 for the question being answered. 설명해 드리겠습니다 means “I will explain [them] for you.” 설명하다 is “to explain”; its 하다 changes to 해 in the connective form. 드리다 literally means “to give” and in this service-oriented expression presents the explaining as something the speaker does for the listener. -겠습니다 expresses intention or commitment in this context, and the ending is formally polite. Example: 이 부분을 설명해 드리겠습니다. — “I will explain this part for you.” The sentence first sets the condition, 세부 사항을 확인하면 (“once I confirm the details”), then gives the linked action 다시 와서 (“come back and”), identifies what will be explained as 그 내용을 (“that content” or “them”), specifies the distribution with 하나씩 (“one by one”), and ends with the formal commitment 설명해 드리겠습니다 (“I will explain them for you”). Thus the whole utterance means: “Once I have the details, I’ll come back and walk you through them.”