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Grammar / Level 3 / Lesson 56

~다고 하다: saying what people said

By Daniel Buckley · 15 minute read · TOPIK 3

Vocabulary

  1. 말하다 - to say, to tell
  2. 생각하다 - to think
  3. 부르다 - to call (someone something)
  4. 자기 - oneself, he or she (the person just mentioned)
  5. 그만두다 - to quit
  6. 결혼하다 - to get married
  7. 막히다 - to be blocked, to be jammed
  8. 치우다 - to tidy, to clear away
  9. 잘못 - fault, mistake

A colleague rings to say she'll be late, and your boss asks what she said. English just puts "she said" in front. Korean builds the quote first, and only then says who said it: 늦는다고 했어요.

The piece to look at is 고. It sits on the end of the quote and works a bit like "that" in "she said that". Statements, questions, commands and suggestions each end differently before it, and those four endings are this lesson. Once you have them, 다고 생각해요, I think that, comes free.

Word for word: 라고

For someone's exact words, put them in quotation marks and add 라고, then the verb of saying. It doesn't matter how the quote ends, and nothing inside it changes. You'll mostly see this in books and news, because in conversation people report instead of reciting.

  1. 민수 씨가 "내일 갈게요"라고 했어요.

    Minsu said, "I'll come tomorrow."

  2. 선생님이 "잘했어요"라고 말씀하셨어요.

    The teacher said, "Well done."

  3. 어머니는 "밥 먹어"라고 하셨어요.

    My mother said, "Eat."

Reporting a statement: 다고

To report a statement, take the plain form from speech levels and add 고. That form is why verbs get 는다 or ㄴ다 here and adjectives don't. If you can write 한다체, you already have this.

Quoting a statement

  • Verb, stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ: add ㄴ다고, and a ㄹ drops.가다 → 간다고살다 → 산다고
  • Verb, stem ends in a consonant: add 는다고.먹다 → 먹는다고읽다 → 읽는다고
  • Adjectives, 있다 and 없다: add 다고 to the stem.바쁘다 → 바쁘다고맛있다 → 맛있다고
  • Past: add 다고 after 았/었.갔다고먹었다고
  • Future: ㄹ/을 거라고, and for a stated intention 겠다고.갈 거라고가겠다고
  • Nouns: add 이라고, or 라고 after a vowel. The negative is 아니라고.학생 → 학생이라고친구 → 친구라고학생이 아니라고

The noun line is the one that surprises people. 이다 and 아니다 end in 다, but they quote with 라고: 학생이라고, never 학생이다고. 거라고 is the same thing, since it comes from 것이다.

Pick a verb

가다가간다고

Pick a verb

바쁘다바쁘바쁘다고

  1. 민수 씨가 오늘 바쁘다고 했어요.

    Minsu said he's busy today.

  2. 친구가 내일 부산에 간다고 했어요.

    My friend said she's going to Busan tomorrow.

  3. 동생이 벌써 밥을 먹었다고 했어요.

    My brother said he'd already eaten.

  4. 지수 씨가 회사를 그만둘 거라고 했어요.

    Jisu said she's going to quit her job.

  5. 민수 씨는 자기가 학생이라고 했어요.

    Minsu said he was a student.

  6. 그건 제 잘못이 아니라고 했어요.

    I said it wasn't my fault.

Each half has its own tense. The quote keeps the tense of what was said, and 하다 says when it was said. English shifts "is" to "was" after "said", but Korean leaves it alone, so 바쁘다고 했어요 stays present inside the quote.

Keep 하다 in the present and it means people say this in general, or someone says it now.

  1. 사람들이 그 식당이 맛있다고 해요.

    People say that restaurant is good.

  2. 한국 사람들은 이걸 좋아한다고 해요.

    They say Koreans like this.

Not only 하다

고 can sit in front of any verb about saying or thinking. That's how Korean says "I think that" and "I heard that", and these two will probably get more use than 다고 하다 itself.

  1. 저는 이 영화가 재미있다고 생각해요.

    I think this film is good.

  2. 내년에 결혼한다고 들었어요.

    I heard you're getting married next year.

  3. 민수 씨가 곧 돌아온다고 말했어요.

    Minsu said he'd be back soon.

  4. 지수 씨가 일찍 오겠다고 약속했어요.

    Jisu promised to come early.

What changes inside the quote

The quote loses its politeness, because 고 needs the plain form. That isn't rude. The politeness moves to the end of the sentence, to 했어요 or 하셨어요, where it's aimed at the person you're talking to.

The words also shift to suit the new speaker, as they do in English. "Here" can become 거기, and when someone talks about themselves, 저 usually becomes 자기.

What Minsu said, and how you report it

  • Minsu says: 저는 안 가요.민수 씨가 자기는 안 간다고 했어요.
  • Minsu says: 제가 할게요.민수 씨가 자기가 하겠다고 했어요.
  • Minsu says: 여기 정말 좋아요.민수 씨가 거기 정말 좋다고 했어요.

※ 자기 is for the person doing the saying. If it were your own words, you'd keep 저: 저는 안 간다고 했어요, I said I wasn't going.

Reporting a question: 냐고

Questions take 냐고 on the stem, and the verb is usually 물어보다, to ask. Here verbs and adjectives behave the same, so there's no 는다 to think about. The only catch is that ㄹ drops, as it does before any ㄴ.

Quoting a question

  • Verbs and adjectives: add 냐고 to the stem, and a ㄹ drops.가다 → 가냐고좋다 → 좋냐고살다 → 사냐고
  • Past: add 냐고 after 았/었.갔냐고
  • Future: ㄹ/을 거냐고.갈 거냐고
  • Nouns: add 이냐고, or 냐고 after a vowel.학생 → 학생이냐고친구 → 친구냐고

Pick a verb

가다가가냐고

  1. 친구가 어디에 사냐고 물어봤어요.

    A friend asked where I live.

  2. 민수 씨가 저한테 바쁘냐고 물어봤어요.

    Minsu asked if I was busy.

  3. 선생님이 왜 늦었냐고 물어보셨어요.

    The teacher asked why I was late.

  4. 그 사람이 저한테 학생이냐고 물어봤어요.

    That man asked if I was a student.

  5. 친구가 점심에 뭐 먹을 거냐고 물어봤어요.

    My friend asked what I was going to have for lunch.

※ You'll also meet 느냐고 on verbs and (으)냐고 on adjectives: 먹느냐고, 좋으냐고. They're the traditional forms, and many textbooks and careful writers still use them, so a later lesson covers them. In speech, 냐고 does nearly everything.

Reporting commands and suggestions

A command takes (으)라고, with the same 으 slot as (으)세요: 가세요 gives 가라고, and 읽으세요 gives 읽으라고. A suggestion takes 자고, built on the 자 of let's. Each negative comes from 말다, which you met in 지 마세요.

Quoting commands and suggestions

  • Command, stem ends in a vowel or ㄹ: add 라고.가다 → 가라고만들다 → 만들라고
  • Command, stem ends in a consonant: add 으라고.먹다 → 먹으라고듣다 → 들으라고
  • Don't: 지 말라고.가다 → 가지 말라고
  • Suggestion: add 자고 to the stem.가다 → 가자고먹다 → 먹자고
  • Let's not: 지 말자고.가다 → 가지 말자고

Pick a verb

가다가가라고

  1. 의사 선생님이 좀 쉬라고 하셨어요.

    The doctor told me to rest.

  2. 어머니가 빨리 먹으라고 하셨어요.

    My mother told me to eat quickly.

  3. 친구가 걱정하지 말라고 했어요.

    My friend told me not to worry.

  4. 친구가 같이 가자고 했어요.

    My friend suggested we go together.

  5. 민수 씨가 오늘은 일찍 끝내자고 했어요.

    Minsu suggested we finish early today.

  6. 동생이 그 영화는 보지 말자고 했어요.

    My sister said we shouldn't see that film.

※ 주세요 doesn't follow this rule when the speaker wants the thing for themselves. That has its own form, 달라고, in the next lesson.

You now have all four. Name the kind of sentence each person originally said.

  1. 친구가 돈이 없다고 했어요.

  2. 민수 씨가 같이 먹자고 했어요.

  3. 지수 씨가 어디에 가냐고 물어봤어요.

  4. 선생님이 앉으라고 하셨어요.

  5. 동생이 내일 일찍 온다고 했어요.

  6. 어머니가 일찍 오라고 하셨어요.

  7. 친구가 배고프냐고 물어봤어요.

  8. 선배가 커피를 마시자고 했어요.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

(이)라고: what something is called

(이)라고 하다 also gives names, because a name is just what people say something is. It's how you introduce yourself formally and how you ask for a word. With 부르다 it means "call", as in "they call me".

  1. 저는 민수라고 합니다.

    My name is Minsu.

  2. 이건 한국어로 뭐라고 해요?

    What's this called in Korean?

  3. 이 음식은 떡볶이라고 해요.

    This dish is called tteokbokki.

  4. 친구들은 저를 곰이라고 불러요.

    My friends call me Bear.

  5. 방금 뭐라고 했어요?

    What did you just say?

※ 뭐라고요? on its own is "sorry, what?". Said flatly it asks someone to repeat themselves. Said sharply it means "what did you just say to me?".

보고: said to whom

The person spoken to normally takes 한테 or 에게. In conversation you'll also hear 보고, and it goes straight on a person. It's spoken Korean, and it's mostly used with verbs of saying.

  1. 친구가 저보고 살이 빠졌다고 했어요.

    A friend told me I'd lost weight.

  2. 어머니가 동생보고 방을 치우라고 하셨어요.

    My mother told my brother to tidy his room.

  3. 선배가 저보고 같이 밥을 먹자고 했어요.

    My senior asked me to have a meal with him.

※ Don't confuse it with 보다, "than". 저보다 is "than me", and 저보고 is "to me".

In a conversation

A

지수 씨는 왜 안 와요?

Jisu why not come?

B

아까 전화했는데 좀 늦는다고 했어요.

Earlier phoned, and a bit is late, said.

A

왜요? 길이 막힌다고 했어요?

Why? Road is blocked, said?

B

네, 그리고 먼저 먹으라고 했어요.

Yes, and first eat, said.

A

몇 시에 온다고 했어요?

What time comes, said?

B

일곱 시쯤 올 거라고 했어요.

Seven o'clock around will come, said.

Common mistakes

  1. 민수 씨가 바빠요고 했어요.

    민수 씨가 바쁘다고 했어요.

    Quotes are built on the plain form, not the 해요 form.

  2. 친구가 밥을 먹다고 했어요.

    친구가 밥을 먹는다고 했어요.

    다고 goes straight on the stem only for adjectives. Verbs need 는다 or ㄴ다 first.

  3. 민수 씨가 학생이다고 했어요.

    민수 씨가 학생이라고 했어요.

    이다 and 아니다 quote with 라고.

One sentence in each group is wrong. Tap it.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

친구가 내일 부산에 ___ 했어요. (가다) My friend said she's going to Busan tomorrow.

A verb with a vowel stem takes ㄴ다고.

Summary

Four kinds of quote

  • Statement: plain form + 고.간다고, 먹는다고, 바쁘다고, 갔다고, 갈 거라고, 학생이라고
  • Question: stem + 냐고.가냐고, 먹냐고, 사냐고, 학생이냐고
  • Command: (으)라고, or 지 말라고.가라고, 먹으라고, 가지 말라고
  • Suggestion: 자고, or 지 말자고.가자고, 먹자고, 가지 말자고

Now you can say

  1. 민수 씨가 좀 늦는다고 했어요.

    Minsu said he'll be a bit late.

  2. 저는 이 영화가 재미있다고 생각해요.

    I think this film is good.

  3. 이건 한국어로 뭐라고 해요?

    What's this called in Korean?

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