Korean at the stationery shop: choose a refill that fits your pen
Ask for a refill only, specify 0.5 mm, and check compatibility before choosing it.
Your pen has run out, but you want to replace the refill rather than buy a whole pen. A package marked 0.5 mm may have the stated size you want without fitting your pen. Bring the pen or its model details, then use these questions to check the two requirements separately.
Six useful lines
Customer · Say this
이 펜에 넣는 리필심이 있나요?
I pene neonneun ripilsimi innayo?
Do you have a refill that goes in this pen?
Show the pen so 이 펜, “this pen,” has a clear reference.
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Customer · Say this
리필심만 따로 살 수 있어요?
Ripilsimman ttaro sal su isseoyo?
Can I buy just the refill separately?
만 means only: you want the refill, not the whole pen.
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Customer · Say this
영 점 오 밀리미터로 주세요.
Yeong jeom o millimiteoro juseyo.
Please give me the 0.5-millimetre one.
영 점 오 reads 0.5 aloud. Check the width printed on the package as well.
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Customer · Say this
이 리필심이 제 펜에 맞나요?
I ripilsimi je pene mannayo?
Does this refill fit my pen?
A matching width does not establish that the refill fits this pen.
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Customer · Say this
더 굵은 건 말고, 같은 굵기로 주세요.
Deo gulgeun geon malgo, gateun gulkkiro juseyo.
Not a thicker one, please; I’d like the same thickness.
같은 refers to the width you have already identified. Point to its marking if necessary.
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Customer · Say this
그럼 이 리필심으로 주세요.
Geureom i ripilsimeuro juseyo.
Then I’ll take this refill, please.
Choose the product only after the width and compatibility have been checked.
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How to use the conversation
There are two separate checks: the stated refill size you want and the refill that fits your pen. The 0.5 mm line supplies a size requirement; 맞나요? asks about compatibility. Do not treat one answer as settling both questions. Treat 0.5 mm as the product’s stated size; it is not a guarantee of an exact line width on every paper.
리필심만 따로 asks for the refill by itself. In 더 굵은 건 말고, 말고 excludes the thicker option; 같은 굵기 requests the same width as the reference already established. Finish with 그럼 이 리필심으로 주세요 only when you have identified the right product.
The Latin reading is a guide, not English spelling. eo represents the single Korean vowel 어, and eu represents 으. In 영 점 오, pause lightly between the three parts while keeping the decimal order: zero, point, five. Do not read 0.5 as five millimetres. The guide does not capture every connected-speech sound change.
Try it yourself
Use a pen and an imagined refill package as props. Ask for the refill alone and for 0.5 mm. Your partner says the width matches but does not yet know whether it fits. Identify the missing check and use the compatibility question. Make the final selection only after both conditions are confirmed. For a second round, your partner confirms 0.5 mm but says the refill does not fit. Do not select that refill. Show your pen and use the first question to ask about another suitable refill. Only if a new candidate is offered, point to it and use the fourth question to check its fit. If no compatible refill is available, do not use the final selection line.
Check your understanding 1: The package says 0.5 mm. What still needs checking?
- Whether the refill fits your pen
- Whether every 0.5 mm refill is identical
- Whether you must buy a whole pen
Show the answer 1
Whether the refill fits your pen
The width label does not prove compatibility with your particular pen.
Check your understanding 2: Which line asks to buy the refill without a whole pen?
- 영 점 오 밀리미터로 주세요.
- 리필심만 따로 살 수 있어요?
- 그럼 이 리필심으로 주세요.
Show the answer 2
리필심만 따로 살 수 있어요?
만 means only; 따로 means separately. Together they identify what you want to buy.
Check your understanding 3: You want 0.5 mm, but the clerk offers a thicker refill. Which line fits?
- 그럼 이 리필심으로 주세요.
- 이 펜에 넣는 리필심이 있나요?
- 더 굵은 건 말고, 같은 굵기로 주세요.
Show the answer 3
더 굵은 건 말고, 같은 굵기로 주세요.
말고 excludes the thicker option and 같은 굵기로 requests the same width as already specified.
Questions you may still have
What does buying 리필심만 exclude?
It excludes buying the whole pen: you are asking for just the part that goes inside it. Confirm which product the clerk is offering before buying.
Will any refill with the same width fit?
Do not assume so. Show your pen or its model information and ask whether this refill fits. The stated size and product compatibility are different checks.
How can I recognise 영 점 오 on a package?
It may be written as 0.5 mm. Say the size and compare it with the package label. The spoken number means zero point five, not five.