Reported Speech

Korean Grammar 2

Course 2 · Chapter 8 · Quotation and Reported Speech

💬 Quotation and Reported Speech — 인용

Reporting what somebody said, asked, told you to do or suggested is one of the most useful skills in Korean, and one of the most regular ones: put the quoted sentence into its plain form (the 해라체 of Chapter 1), add 고, and follow with a speech verb such as 말하다, 하다, 묻다 or 생각하다. This chapter covers direct quotation, the four indirect types (statement, question, command, suggestion), the special verbs 달라고 and 주라고, and the everyday contractions -대요, -냬요, -래요 and -재요.

1. Direct quotation: "…"라고 하다

A direct quotation keeps the exact words, in quotation marks, then 라고 and the speech verb: 그는 "너를 사랑해"라고 했어요 "He said, 'I love you'". The same pattern works with 말하다: 친구가 "내일 만나요"라고 말했어요. With a noun alone it names a thing: 이것을 "김치"라고 불러요 "This is called 'kimchi'" (불러요 here is 부르다 "call").

2. Indirect statements: -다고

Indirect speech replaces the quoted sentence with its plain declarative form (Chapter 1) and attaches 고. All three levels of the original (해요체, 합쇼체, 해체) become the same one:

Examples: 나는 그가 너를 좋아한다고 말했어. "I said that he likes you." 그가 선생님이었다고 했어요. "He said he was a teacher." 저는 밥을 안 먹었다고 말했어요. "I said that I didn't eat." 그는 제가 내일 올 거라고 했어요. "He said I would come tomorrow."

Tense belongs to the quote, not to the reporting verb: 선생님은 학생들이 늦게 도착했다고 말했어요 (arrived), 도착한다고 말했어요 (are arriving), 도착하겠다고 말했어요 (will arrive). The speech verb may be in any tense, and it can also be a thinking or hearing verb: 잘 모른다고 생각해요 "I think they don't know", 비가 온다고 들었어요 "I heard it's raining".

이다 and 아니다. After a vowel-ending noun, the 이 may be dropped: 의사라고 or 의사이라고; after a consonant-ending noun it stays: 학생이라고. 아니다 gives 아니라고 (own knowledge: this form is not in the sources checked).

3. Indirect questions: -(으)냐고

A question uses the plain question ending -냐 (the 해라체 question of Chapter 1) plus 고, with -느냐고 for verbs in the formal style and -냐고 in speech. Adjectives take -(으)냐고 (-으냐고 after a consonant stem, -냐고 after a vowel or ㄹ-stem). 있다/없다 always take -느냐고 (spoken -냐고): 있느냐고, 없냐고. 이다 gives (이)냐고: 의사냐고, 선생님이냐고.

• 그가 무엇을 좋아하느냐고 물어봤어요. "I asked him what he likes."
• 나는 그 사람이 의사냐고 물어봤어. "I asked if that person is a doctor."
• 그 사람이 우리 선생님이냐고 물어봤어. "I asked if that person is our teacher."
• Past and future: 갔냐고, 가겠냐고, 갈 거냐고.

For a yes/no question add nothing; Korean needs no 'whether' (the 'whether' clause with -는지 is a different construction; this chapter does not cover it).

4. Indirect commands: -(으)라고

Vowel stem + -라고, consonant stem + -으라고; the negative uses -지 말라고. Honorific -(으)세요 and -(으)십시오 are not used inside the quote; the plain command form -(으)라 is.

• 우리 아빠는 저에게 밥을 빨리 먹으라고 했어요. "My dad told me to eat fast."
• 선생님이 복도에서 뛰지 말라고 했어요. "The teacher said not to run in the hallway."
• 그렇게 하지 말라고 했어. "I told you not to do it like that."

Specials: 하다 → 하라고 (not 해라고); ㄹ-stems keep the ㄹ: 만들다 → 만들라고, 자르다 → 자르라고. The commands of Chapter 3's irregular verbs follow the usual pattern (들으라고, 도우라고).

달라고 and 주라고 — "give me" and "give them"

When the quoted request is "give me / us …" (the speaker is the receiver), 주다 turns into 달다: 달라고. When someone is told to give something to a third person, it is the regular 주라고:

• 휴지를 달라고 했어요. "I said, 'Please give me a tissue.'"
• 조용히 해 달라고 했어요. "I asked (them) to be quiet." (-아/어 달라고 = a request for a favour)
• 애기에게 밥을 주라고 했어. "I said, 'Give the baby rice.'"

5. Indirect suggestions: -자고

A suggestion "let's…" is the plain -자 plus 고, attached to the bare verb stem with no change: 가자고, 먹자고, 하자고. 아빠가 밥을 먹자고 했어. "Dad said, 'Let's eat.'" 우리 아들은 나한테 자꾸 부산에 가자고 졸랐어. "My son kept pestering me to go to Busan." The negative is -지 말자고 (own knowledge).

6. The everyday contractions: -대요, -냬요, -래요, -재요

In speech, "X says that …" is almost always contracted: the 고 하- in -다고 해요 collapses. The contractions follow the four types:

The sources checked for this chapter did not cover these contractions: the table is from general knowledge. The spelling and the form of the question contraction vary in practice: you will also see -냐고요 used on its own ("they asked whether…?"). Learners usually meet -대요 / -래요 / -재요 most often. Use the full forms in writing and in careful speech.

Do not confuse a reported question with a repeated question: 뭐 하냐고요? in conversation can also be an echo, "You're asking what I'm doing?".

7. Person, honorifics and politeness

• Pronouns follow the viewpoint of the reporter. Direct "제가 하고 싶지 않습니다" becomes 그는 하고 싶지 않다고 했어요; the speaker's 제가 is dropped or changed. The sources give no general rule, only examples (그는 너를 사랑한다고 했어).
• Honorifics. Respect for the person being talked about goes inside the quote with -(으)시-: 선생님이 가신다고 하셨어요 "The teacher said that (they) are going" (own knowledge; the sources checked do not cover honorifics in quotation, but the pattern follows Chapter 2).
• Politeness of the reporter. Only the final 하다 carries 해요체 / 합쇼체: 가신다고 해요 / 가신다고 합니다.

🗣️ In Use — 실제 예문

📋 Quick Reference — 요약표

✏️ Try It Yourself — 연습

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