Lesson 10 1-Year Course, Week 32

Reported Speech: -다고 했어요

Report what other people said in Korean: statements with -다고, questions with -냐고, suggestions with -자고, commands with -(으)라고, and the short forms -대요/-래요.

Mr. Gaon · Grammar, vocabulary & TOPIK

What you will learn in this lesson

Report statements with -다고/-ㄴ다고/-는다고 and nouns with -(이)라고
Report questions with -냐고, suggestions with -자고 and commands with -(으)라고
Use 달라고 and 주라고 correctly
Understand and use the spoken short forms -대요, -래요, -냬요, -재요

Mr. Gaon

Hello! "She said she was busy." "He asked if I was hungry." We say sentences like these every day. In Korean there is a clear system for this, and once you see the rules, it becomes very logical. Let’s build it together.

Direct and indirect speech

Direct speech repeats the exact words inside quotation marks and adds 라고 right after the closing quotation mark: "배고파요"라고 했어요. — He said, "I’m hungry."

Indirect speech reports the meaning in your own words. Korean does this by changing the end of the original sentence into a special form and adding 고, followed by a verb such as 하다 (say), 말하다 (say, tell), 묻다 (ask) or 듣다 (hear).

The key idea: first decide what kind of sentence the original was. Was it a statement, a question, a suggestion ("let’s…") or a command ("do…")? Each type has its own ending. The politeness level of the original sentence disappears; you only show politeness in your own final verb, like 했어요 or 하셨어요.

Statement: A + -다고 / V + -ㄴ다고·-는다고 / N + -(이)라고 + 했어요

"(Someone) said that…" — reporting a statement.

Adjective, present: stem + -다고 (바쁘다 → 바쁘다고, 좋다 → 좋다고).
Verb, present, stem ends in a vowel: + -ㄴ다고 (가다 → 간다고, 오다 → 온다고).
Verb, present, ㄹ stem: drop ㄹ, then + -ㄴ다고 (살다 → 산다고, 만들다 → 만든다고).
Verb, present, stem ends in a consonant: + -는다고 (먹다 → 먹는다고, 읽다 → 읽는다고).
있다/없다: + -다고 (있다고, 없다고).
Past (all verbs and adjectives): -았/었다고 (갔다고, 바빴다고).
Future: -(으)ㄹ 거라고 (갈 거라고, 먹을 거라고).
Noun + 이다: vowel → -라고 (의사라고), consonant → -이라고 (학생이라고). Negative: N이/가 아니라고.

수진 씨가 오늘 바쁘다고 했어요. sujin ssiga oneul bappeudago haesseoyo.
Sujin said she is busy today.
동생이 지금 밥을 먹는다고 했어요. dongsaengi jigeum babeul meongneundago haesseoyo.
My younger sibling said he is eating now.
민수 씨는 부산에 산다고 했어요. minsu ssineun busane sandago haesseoyo.
Minsu said he lives in Busan.
어제 영화가 재미있었다고 했어요. eoje yeonghwaga jaemiisseotdago haesseoyo.
She said the movie yesterday was fun.
그분이 이 회사 사장님이라고 들었어요. geubuni i hoesa sajangnimirago deureosseoyo.
I heard that he is the president of this company.

Question: V/A + -냐고 / N + -(이)냐고 + 물었어요

"(Someone) asked whether / what…" — reporting a question.

In everyday speech, add -냐고 to verb and adjective stems: 가냐고, 먹냐고, 바쁘냐고, 있냐고.
In careful or written style you will also see -느냐고 for verbs (먹느냐고) and -(으)냐고 for adjectives (좋으냐고).
ㄹ stems drop ㄹ: 살다 → 사냐고.
Past: -았/었냐고 (갔냐고, 먹었냐고).
Noun: vowel → -냐고 (누구냐고), consonant → -이냐고 (학생이냐고, 무엇이냐고).
Common final verbs: 물었어요 (asked), 물어봤어요 (asked), 했어요.

선생님이 숙제를 했냐고 물어보셨어요. seonsaengnimi sukjereul haennyago mureobosyeosseoyo.
The teacher asked if I had done the homework.
친구가 주말에 시간이 있냐고 물었어요. chinguga jumare sigani innyago mureosseoyo.
My friend asked if I had time on the weekend.
택시 기사님이 어디에 가냐고 했어요. taeksi gisanimi eodie ganyago haesseoyo.
The taxi driver asked where I was going.
엄마가 저 사람이 누구냐고 물으셨어요. eommaga jeo sarami nugunyago mureusyeosseoyo.
Mom asked who that person was.

Suggestion: V + -자고 / Command: V + -(으)라고 + 했어요

"(Someone) suggested that we…" / "(Someone) told me to…"

Suggestion ("let’s…"): stem + -자고 (가다 → 가자고, 먹다 → 먹자고). Negative: -지 말자고.
Command: vowel or ㄹ stem + -라고 (가다 → 가라고, 만들다 → 만들라고); consonant stem + -으라고 (먹다 → 먹으라고).
Negative command: -지 말라고 (가지 말라고).
"Give it to me" (the speaker): 주다 → 달라고. "Give it to someone else": 주라고.
Requests like -아/어 주세요 also become 달라고 or 주라고: 도와 달라고 했어요.

친구가 같이 저녁을 먹자고 했어요. chinguga gachi jeonyeogeul meokjago haesseoyo.
My friend suggested we eat dinner together.
의사 선생님이 푹 쉬라고 하셨어요. uisa seonsaengnimi puk swirago hasyeosseoyo.
The doctor told me to rest well.
선배가 늦지 말라고 했어요. seonbaega neutji mallago haesseoyo.
My senior told me not to be late.
아이가 물을 달라고 했어요. aiga mureul dallago haesseoyo.
The child asked (me) for water.
팀장님이 이 서류를 민수 씨에게 주라고 하셨어요. timjangnimi i seoryureul minsu ssiege jurago hasyeosseoyo.
The team leader told me to give this document to Minsu.

The four types at a glance

Original type	Original sentence	Reported	Short spoken form
Statement (verb)	지금 가요.	지금 간다고 했어요.	지금 간대요.
Statement (adjective)	날씨가 좋아요.	날씨가 좋다고 했어요.	날씨가 좋대요.
Statement (noun)	학생이에요.	학생이라고 했어요.	학생이래요.
Question	어디 가요?	어디 가냐고 했어요.	어디 가냬요.
Suggestion	같이 가요!	같이 가자고 했어요.	같이 가재요.
Command	빨리 가세요.	빨리 가라고 했어요.	빨리 가래요.

The short forms come from dropping 고 하- : 간다고 해요 → 간대요, 가라고 해요 → 가래요.

Mr. Gaon

The short forms are everywhere in conversation, so they are worth learning well. Just remember the pairs: -다고 해요 → -대요, -라고 해요 → -래요, -냐고 해요 → -냬요, -자고 해요 → -재요.

Easy to mix up: -대요 and -래요

민지 씨가 내일 온대요. minji ssiga naeil ondaeyo.
Minji says she’s coming tomorrow. -대요 = reported statement (온다고 해요).
민지 씨가 내일 오래요. minji ssiga naeil oraeyo.
Minji says (you should) come tomorrow. -래요 = reported command (오라고 해요). One letter changes the whole meaning!
저 사람이 가수래요. jeo sarami gasuraeyo.
They say that person is a singer. With nouns, -(이)래요 is a statement: 가수라고 해요.
같이 산책하재요. gachi sanchaekajaeyo.
She’s suggesting we take a walk together. -재요 = reported suggestion (하자고 해요).
몇 시에 끝나냬요. myeot sie kkeunnanyaeyo.
He’s asking what time it ends. -냬요 = reported question (끝나냐고 해요).

Changing "I" and "you"

When you report speech, change the people words to fit your point of view, just like in English. If your friend said to you, "저는 너무 피곤해요", you report: 친구가 자기는 너무 피곤하다고 했어요. Here 자기 means "himself / herself" and refers back to the speaker.

If someone said to you, "이거 드세요", you can report: 저한테 이거 먹으라고 했어요. The honorific 드시다 becomes a plain verb because you are now talking about yourself. Respect for the original speaker goes into your final verb: 사장님이 먹으라고 하셨어요.

Passing on a message

A지수 씨한테서 연락 왔어요?   jisu ssihanteseo yeollak wasseoyo?Did you hear from Jisu?
B네, 오늘 회의에 좀 늦는대요.   ne, oneul hoeuie jom neunneundaeyo.Yes, she says she’ll be a bit late for today’s meeting.
A왜요? 무슨 일이 있대요?   waeyo? museun iri itdaeyo?Why? Did she say something happened?
B길이 많이 막힌대요. 그리고 먼저 시작하래요.   giri mani makindaeyo. geurigo meonjeo sijakaraeyo.She says traffic is really bad. And she says we should start first.
A알겠어요. 회의 자료는 어디 있냐고 물어봐 줄래요?   algesseoyo. hoeui jaryoneun eodi innyago mureobwa jullaeyo?Okay. Could you ask her where the meeting materials are?
B벌써 물어봤어요. 책상 위에 있대요.   beolsseo mureobwasseoyo. chaeksang wie itdaeyo.I already asked. She says they’re on the desk.

Check quiz

Q1. Report this statement: "저는 김치를 먹어요." — 친구가 김치를 ( ) 했어요.
Q2. Report this question: "몇 살이에요?" — 아이가 저한테 몇 ( ) 물었어요.
Q3. Your friend said, "영화 보러 가요!" (Let’s go see a movie!). Which is correct?
Q4. A child said to you, "과자 주세요!" Report it.
Q5. What does 선생님이 내일 일찍 오래요 mean?
Q6. Which short form is correct for 날씨가 춥다고 해요?
Q7. Report "저는 의사예요." — 그 사람이 자기는 ( ) 했어요.

Mr. Gaon

Great work! Reported speech has many forms, but they all follow one plan: type of sentence → ending → 고 하다. Try reporting one thing a friend told you today, first with -다고 했어요 and then with the short form -대요.

Key points

Statement: A -다고, V -ㄴ다고/-는다고, N -(이)라고, past -았/었다고.
Question: -냐고 (N -(이)냐고) + 물었어요/했어요.
Suggestion: -자고. Command: -(으)라고; "give me" = 달라고, "give them" = 주라고.
Short spoken forms: -대요, -래요, -냬요, -재요.
Show respect to the original speaker in your final verb: 하셨어요.

Recommended official free resources

Korean Language Teaching & Learning Center — National Institute of Korean Language
Korean Basic Dictionary (multilingual) — National Institute of Korean Language

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