How to Say Split the Bill in Korean: 8 Phrases and Exactly Who to Say Each One To

The moment the meal ends, somebody stands up and walks to the counter. If you want to know how to say split the bill in Korean, you have about four seconds to say it before that person has already tapped their card.

Here is the thing that trips up English speakers: the vocabulary is easy. 더치페이 (deochipei) is the word everyone knows. The problem is that saying it to the wrong person, at the wrong moment, in the wrong ending, reads as either cold or presumptuous.

And there is a mechanical issue nobody warns you about. Many Korean restaurants take one payment for one table, and older places will tell you flat out that they cannot split a card charge. So half of this is phrasing, and half is knowing what to ask the staff versus what to say to your friends.

Below: the phrase for the counter staff, the phrase for your friends, the phrase for a senior colleague, and the ones that will make you sound like you learned Korean from a drama.

SituationSplitting the bill after a meal
How much politeness mattersHigh - who pays is tied to age and rank, so the phrase changes depending on whether you are talking to staff or to the person older than you
Safe default따로 계산해 주세요 (ttaro gyesanhae juseyo) - "Please charge us separately," said to the staff at the counter.

If You Only Remember One

Say this to the staff at the register:

따로 계산해 주세요 (ttaro gyesanhae juseyo) - "Please charge us separately."

Safe with anyone: cashiers, servers, any age, any restaurant. It is a request to the business, not a negotiation with your table, so nobody at your table can take it badly.

To your friends, say 우리 나눠서 내자 (uri nanwoseo naeja) - "let's split it." To someone older or senior, do not propose the split at all until you read the section on that.

The Expressions, and Who Each One Is For

Jump to a phrase

1. 따로 계산해 주세요

ttaro gyesanhae juseyo (literally: please calculate separately)

This is the workhorse. 따로 (ttaro) means "separately" and 계산 (gyesan) is the word for settling a restaurant bill. You say it to the staff at the counter, and it means "ring us up as separate transactions."

The -해 주세요 ending is polite request form, appropriate to any stranger of any age. This is the one phrase to memorise if you memorise nothing else.

⚠️ Watch out — No trap. It is addressed to staff, not to your companions, so it carries no social weight at all. The only risk is the answer: some places, especially small older restaurants, will say 따로 계산 안 돼요 (ttaro gyesan an dwaeyo) - "we can't split." Then one person pays and the rest transfer money.

2. 각자 계산할게요

gakja gyesanhalgeyo (literally: we'll each pay for ourselves)

각자 (gakja) means "each person individually." Said to staff, it signals you want per-person totals rather than just two halves. Useful when four of you ate different things.

The -ㄹ게요 ending states your intention politely, so it works with any cashier. It is slightly more assertive than a request, which is fine here because you are stating what you plan to do.

⚠️ Watch out — Do not use 각자 as the way you propose the split to a group that includes someone clearly senior to you. To their ear it can sound like you are itemising what they ate. With peers it is completely normal.

3. 나눠서 낼까요?

nanwoseo naelkkayo? (literally: shall we pay having divided it?)

This is how you propose the split to your companions rather than instructing the staff. 나누다 (nanuda) is "to divide," and 내다 (naeda) is "to pay." The -ㄹ까요? ending makes it a suggestion, not a demand.

Use it with colleagues you are on 요-form terms with, classmates, someone you have met a few times. It is polite and leaves them room to say "no, I've got it," which is often what actually happens.

⚠️ Watch out — With a much older person or your boss, even this soft version can land as forward, because in many workplaces the senior person paying is the default and offering to split reads as declining a small kindness. With them, offer to pay for the next round instead.

4. 더치페이 할까요?

deochipei halkkayo? (from English "Dutch pay") - shall we go Dutch?

더치페이 (deochipei) is a Korean-made English coinage and it is genuinely used, especially by people under about 40 and in dating or friend contexts. Everyone understands it.

With the -ㄹ까요? ending it is a polite suggestion, fine among coworkers of similar age and friends. It has a slightly casual, slightly loaded flavour compared to 나눠서 내다.

⚠️ Watch out — It carries a faint whiff of "I am drawing a line between us," which is exactly why some people avoid it on a first date or with someone much older. Older speakers in particular can hear it as blunt. If you want neutral, use 나눠서 낼까요?

5. n분의 1로 하죠

en-bunui il-lo hajyo (literally: let's do it as one-nth) - split evenly by headcount

엔분의 일 (n분의 1) is the standard Korean way of saying "divide the total by the number of people." You will hear it constantly among coworkers after dinner. It means an even split regardless of who ate what.

The -죠 ending is a light, collegial "let's," polite but relaxed. It fits colleagues, teammates, and friends who are not close enough for plain casual speech.

⚠️ Watch out — Say it to peers, not to a senior who is reaching for their wallet. Also be aware of what it commits you to: 엔분의 일 means you pay an equal share even if you had one beer and someone else had four. If that matters, ask for 각자 계산 instead.

6. 제가 낼게요

jega naelgeyo (literally: I will pay)

You need this one to survive the negotiation, because in practice the conversation is usually not "how do we split" but "who pays." 제가 (jega) is the humble "I," and -ㄹ게요 commits you to the action.

Say it to anyone in a 요-form relationship: colleagues, acquaintances, a friend's older sibling. Expect a round of pushback before someone gives in - that back-and-forth is normal, not a fight.

⚠️ Watch out — Do not say this and then let someone else pay without protest; committing and then retreating is worse than never offering. And if the other person is much senior and has already said 제가 낼게요, insisting past two rounds stops being polite.

7. 다음에 제가 살게요

daeume jega salgeyo (literally: next time I'll buy)

This is the phrase that solves the senior-colleague problem. 다음에 (daeume) is "next time" and 사다 (sada) here means "to treat." You accept their payment now and commit to the next one.

Say it to a boss, an older colleague, a professor, a friend's parents - anyone whose offer to pay you should not fight. It converts an awkward split into a normal rotation, which is how a lot of Korean meals are actually settled.

⚠️ Watch out — It is a real promise. If you say it, buy the next coffee or the next meal - people remember. Do not use it as a polite escape hatch you never cash in.

8. 우리 나눠서 내자

uri nanwoseo naeja (literally: let's split and pay)

The casual version, in 반말 (banmal) - plain speech. The -자 ending is "let's," used between close friends and people clearly younger than you who you are close with.

This is what you actually say to a friend you have known for years. Same meaning as 나눠서 낼까요?, just stripped of the polite ending.

⚠️ Watch out — Never use -자 with someone older than you, a colleague you are not close to, or anyone you have been speaking 요-form with. Dropping into 반말 uninvited is a bigger offence than anything about money. If you are unsure whether you are on 반말 terms, you are not.

group of friends eating korean bbq at restaurant table ## How It Sounds in Real Life

At the counter, four coworkers, mid-meal-out.

Staff: 같이 계산하시겠어요? (gachi gyesanhasigesseoyo?) - Are you paying together?

You: 따로 계산해 주세요. (ttaro gyesanhae juseyo.) - Separately, please.

Staff: 네, 카드 주세요. (ne, kadeu juseyo.) - Sure, your card please.

Small old restaurant, the split is refused.

You: 따로 계산 돼요? (ttaro gyesan dwaeyo?) - Can we pay separately?

Staff: 아, 따로 계산 안 돼요. (a, ttaro gyesan an dwaeyo.) - Ah, we can't split it.

You (to your friend): 그럼 내가 먼저 낼게. 이따 보내줘. (geureom naega meonjeo naelge. itta bonaejwo.) - Then I'll pay now, send me your share later.

Dinner with a team leader about fifteen years older than you.

Team leader: 제가 낼게요. (jega naelgeyo.) - I'll get this.

You: 감사합니다. 다음에 제가 살게요. (gamsahamnida. daeume jega salgeyo.) - Thank you. Next one's on me.

Two close friends, same age, after lunch.

Friend A: 우리 나눠서 내자. (uri nanwoseo naeja.) - Let's split it.

Friend B: 그래, 엔분의 일. (geurae, en-bunui il.) - Yeah, even split.

Which One Do I Pick?

  • Talking to staff, not your table: 따로 계산해 주세요. It is a logistics request and safe with anyone, any age, any restaurant.
  • Peers, colleagues your own age, classmates: 나눠서 낼까요? or 엔분의 1로 하죠. Both are polite, both leave room for someone to insist on paying.
  • Someone clearly older or senior who has offered to pay: stop negotiating and say 다음에 제가 살게요. Accepting and reciprocating later is the normal move, not splitting.
  • Close friends you already speak 반말 with: 우리 나눠서 내자, or just 엔분의 일. No ceremony needed.
  • When people ordered wildly different amounts, ask for 각자 계산 (each pays their own) rather than 엔분의 1, which is an equal split by headcount regardless of what you ate.
  • When the restaurant refuses to split the card charge - which happens often in small or older places - one person pays and the rest send money by bank transfer. Say 이따 보낼게요 (itta bonaelgeyo), "I'll send it to you later."

Mistakes That Give You Away

  • Do not translate "split the bill" as 계산서를 나누다 (gyesanseoreul nanuda), "divide the bill." It is grammatical but nobody says it - Koreans split the payment, not the piece of paper. Say 따로 계산해 주세요.
  • Do not ask for 계산서 (gyesanseo, the itemised bill) at the table expecting it to be brought to you. In most Korean restaurants you take the slip from your table to the counter and pay there, so the useful phrase is 계산할게요 (gyesanhalgeyo), "I'll pay now," said as you walk up.
  • Do not use 반말 endings like 나눠서 내자 or 엔분의 일 하자 with a colleague, a stranger, or anyone older. The money question is minor next to the speech-level mistake.
  • Do not lead with 더치페이 할까요? on a first date or with someone much older - many people hear it as drawing a line. 나눠서 낼까요? is the neutral version.
  • Do not keep insisting on paying after a senior person has said 제가 낼게요 twice. Two rounds of polite refusal, then accept and say 다음에 제가 살게요.
  • Do not use 반반 (banban, "half and half") with a table of four. It means a two-way split. For more than two people the word is 엔분의 1. person paying with card at restaurant counter in seoul

What Learners Get Wrong

""Koreans never split the bill - someone always pays for everyone.""

Both happen, and it splits roughly by relationship. Among friends and colleagues of similar age, 엔분의 1 is completely routine, especially for people under about 40. Where the older-pays pattern holds is when there is a clear age or rank gap - a team leader with junior staff, an older relative with a younger one. Read the age gap, not the nationality.

""더치페이 is a slightly rude or foreign word that Koreans avoid.""

It is a normal, widely used Korean word, coined from English but fully naturalised. What is true is that it carries a slightly sharper edge than 나눠서 내다 - it emphasises the separateness - so people soften it in situations where warmth matters, like a first date. It is not rude, just not neutral.

""If I just say the phrase clearly, the restaurant will split my card payment.""

Whether it can be split is a property of the register, not of your Korean. Chains and newer places handle it easily. Small family-run restaurants often run one transaction per table and will simply say no. When that happens the standard fix is one card plus a bank transfer, not more negotiation.

""Offering to pay is generous, so it can't be wrong.""

Offering is fine; overriding is not. If someone clearly senior has committed with 제가 낼게요, pushing past a couple of rounds stops reading as generosity and starts reading as refusing their gesture. The correct counter-move is 다음에 제가 살게요.

Why Korean Has So Many Ways to Say This

English carries politeness in tone, hedging, and word choice - "could we maybe split it?" versus "we're splitting." Korean does that work in the verb ending, which is not optional. Every time you say the verb 내다 (naeda, to pay), you must choose an ending, and that choice states out loud what your relationship is to the listener.

Watch the same idea move through the levels. 내자 (naeja) is plain speech, for close friends and people younger than you. 낼까요? (naelkkayo?) adds the polite -요 and turns it into a suggestion, for colleagues and acquaintances. 내겠습니다 (naegetseumnida) is the formal -습니다 level, for a customer or a very senior person or a stiff business setting. Same verb, same meaning, three completely different social claims. There is no neutral option - not choosing is not available.

This is why bill-splitting is harder in Korean than the vocabulary suggests. Who pays is tied to who is senior, and the verb ending announces where you think you sit. That is also why the counter phrase 따로 계산해 주세요 is so useful: the listener is staff, the relationship is fixed and impersonal, so the ending carries no risk. Once you internalise this, you can predict phrasings this post never covers - take any verb, find its 요-form, and you have a version that is safe with almost anyone who is not a close friend. When in doubt, use 요. Sounding slightly too formal costs you nothing; sounding too casual costs you a lot.

Related Guides

What You Will Need Next

  • how to order food in Korean at a restaurant
  • how to say thank you in Korean and who to say it to
  • Korean banmal vs jondaenmal: when to switch

Split the decision in two. To the staff, say 따로 계산해 주세요 - always safe, no social weight. To your table, look at the age gap: peers get 나눠서 낼까요? or 엔분의 1, close friends get 나눠서 내자, and anyone clearly senior who has already offered gets 다음에 제가 살게요 instead of an argument. And if the restaurant says it cannot split the card, that is the register talking, not your Korean.

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

How to Say Excuse Me in Korean: 7 Phrases, and Which Job Each One Does

이미지
Working out how to say excuse me in Korean is harder than it should be, and the reason is not politeness levels. It is that English uses one phrase for four completely different jobs. When you say "excuse me" you might be calling a waiter, squeezing past someone on the subway, interrupting a stranger to ask a question, or apologising for bumping into them. English lets tone of voice sort that out. Korean uses a different phrase for each one , and picking the wrong one is what makes people look at you strangely. Below are seven phrases, sorted by the job they do. Each one says who you can use it on, and - more useful - who you cannot. Situation Getting someone's attention, passing through, interrupting, or apologising for a small collision How much politeness matters Medium - the phrase is chosen by function first and politeness second, which is the opposite of most Korean situations Safe default 저기요 (jeogiyo) for staff, 잠시만요 (jamsimanyo) for getting past - betw...
자세한 내용 보기

How to Politely Say No Thank You in Korean: 8 Phrases Ranked by Who You're Talking To

이미지
How to politely say no thank you in Korean is one of those things that sounds simple until you actually have to do it. The problem is not the word "no" — it is that Korean has at least four different ways to soften a refusal, and picking the wrong one either sounds rude or sounds so stiff that people think you are upset with them. The trap most learners fall into: they memorize 아니요 (aniyo) as "no" and stick it in front of everything. That works for answering a yes/no question. It does not work for declining an offer, turning down food at someone's house, or telling your boss you cannot take on another project. For those, Korean uses indirect refusal phrases that English does not have — and the one you choose depends entirely on who is standing in front of you. This guide gives you eight phrases for saying no thank you, ordered from the safest (use it with anyone, anywhere) to the most casual (friends only, and even then it depends on the friend). Situ...
자세한 내용 보기

How to Say Goodbye in Korean: 8 Phrases and Who Each One Is For

이미지
The Goodbye That Splits in Two Most guides on how to say goodbye in Korean hand you 안녕히 가세요 and stop there. That is how people end up saying it to a shopkeeper while walking out of the shop, which is wrong. Korean splits goodbye by who is moving. One phrase means "go well" and one means "stay well", and you pick based on whether you are the one leaving or the one staying put. On top of that, every version comes in three politeness levels, and the casual one you learned from a drama is the one that will embarrass you in front of someone older. Below are eight expressions, ordered from the safest to the most restricted, each with the person you can say it to. Situation Saying goodbye when parting with someone How much politeness matters High - the phrase changes with who is leaving and with the age or rank gap Safe default 안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo) - say it to the person who is walking away If You Only Remember One If you are the one staying and t...
자세한 내용 보기