Dictionary — Entry No. 0337
저기요
jeogiyo · interjection
저기요
jeogiyo
[juh-GEE-yo]
interjectionbeginner
Meaning
저기요 (jeogiyo) is the standard way to say ‘Excuse me’ when getting a stranger’s attention in Korean — especially service staff like waiters, baristas, or shop assistants. It combines 저기 (jeogi, ‘over there’) with the politeness particle -요, functioning like ‘Hey, over there!’ to flag someone down without being rude.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
저기요 is one of the most practical phrases K-Pop fans learn before visiting Seoul, and it appears in nearly every K-Drama scene set in a café or restaurant. NewJeans captured the easy confidence of everyday Korean interactions in their debut era, and knowing 저기요 is central to that same effortless navigation of Seoul. In Crash Landing on You, Yoon Se-ri’s instinct to call out 저기요 to strangers is one of the small but telling details that marks her as unmistakably South Korean.
Example Sentences
저기요, 주문할게요!
Jeogiyo, jumunhalgeyo!
Excuse me, I’d like to order! — the classic restaurant call to a server, one of the most-used phrases in Korean dining
저기요, 이거 얼마예요?
Jeogiyo, igeo eolmayeyo?
Excuse me, how much is this? — essential for navigating markets and street stalls in Korea
저기요! 지갑 떨어뜨렸어요!
Jeogiyo! Jigap tteoreotteuryeosseoyo!
Excuse me! You dropped your wallet! — an urgent use to stop a stranger, where the pitch rises sharply
⚠️ Don’t use jeogiyo when…
저기요 suits strangers and service staff but can feel too casual in formal business or professional settings — use 실례합니다 (sillyehamnida) there instead. Also, don’t mix up 저기요 with 여기요 (yeogiyo, ‘over here’) — both call servers but 여기요 points to your location while 저기요 flags someone at a distance; using the wrong one can cause brief but real confusion.
🎵 Heard In
- K-Drama: Crash Landing on You — Yoon Se-ri reflexively uses 저기요 when calling out to strangers in North Korea, a small cultural habit that quietly signals exactly where she is from.
- K-Pop: NewJeans — Attention
ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.