✍️ Intermediate Day 22: Expressing Hearsay – ~다고 해요 / ~(이)라고 해요

📘 Intermediate Day 22: Expressing Hearsay – ~다고 해요 / ~(이)라고 해요

Welcome to Day 22 of the Intermediate Korean series! 🗣️ Today, we’ll learn how to report what someone said in Korean using indirect speech. We use the patterns:

  • ~다고 해요 – “(They) said that…” (used with verbs/adjectives)
  • ~(이)라고 해요 – “(They) said (noun)…” (used with nouns)

These patterns are essential for relaying information, quoting people, or summarizing what you heard. Let’s learn how to use them naturally!


📘 1. What is Indirect Speech in Korean?

When you tell someone what another person said, you use indirect speech – instead of quoting word-for-word, you summarize the idea.

In English:

  • He said, “I’m a student.” → He said that he is a student.

In Korean:

  • “저는 학생이에요.” → 학생이라고 했어요.

📘 2. ~다고 해요 – Reporting Verbs & Adjectives

🔧 Conjugation:

  • Action verb + ㄴ/는다고 해요
  • Descriptive adjective + 다고 해요

Examples:

  • 친구가 한국에 간다고 해요.
    chin-gu-ga han-guk-e gan-da-go hae-yo
    👉 My friend said he is going to Korea.
  • 이 책이 재미있다고 해요.
    i chaek-i jae-mi-it-da-go hae-yo
    👉 They say this book is interesting.
  • 민수가 요리를 잘한다고 해요.
    min-su-ga yo-ri-reul jal-han-da-go hae-yo
    👉 They say Minsoo is good at cooking.

📘 3. ~(이)라고 해요 – Reporting Nouns

When the statement includes a noun + 이다 (to be), use ~(이)라고 해요.

🔧 Conjugation:

  • Noun + (이)라고 해요

Examples:

  • 그 사람이 선생님이라고 해요.
    geu sa-ram-i seon-saeng-nim-i-ra-go hae-yo
    👉 They say that person is a teacher.
  • 이건 선물이라고 해요.
    i-geon seon-mul-i-ra-go hae-yo
    👉 They say this is a gift.

📌 비교표 – Hearsay Grammar Structures

Type Grammar Example Meaning
Verb (Action) ~ㄴ/는다고 해요 간다고 해요 They say (someone) is going
Adjective ~다고 해요 예쁘다고 해요 They say (someone) is pretty
Noun ~(이)라고 해요 학생이라고 해요 They say (someone) is a student

💬 Real-Life Dialogue

👦 준호: 민지가 어디 간대요?
👧 수지: 집에 간다고 했어요.
👦 준호: 아~ 민지는 요리도 잘한다고 해요.


📘 Practice Sentences

  • 그 가수가 정말 잘 부른다고 해요.
  • 이 식당이 유명하다고 해요.
  • 그분은 교수님이라고 해요.
  • 시험이 어렵다고 해요.

🧪 Mini Quiz – Who Said What?

  1. Translate: “He says he is tired.”
    Click to Show Answer

    피곤하다고 해요.

  2. Translate: “They say this place is delicious.”
    Click to Show Answer

    여기가 맛있다고 해요.

  3. Choose the correct one for a noun:
    a) 학생다고 해요
    b) 학생이라고 해요
    c) 학생하다고 해요
    Click to Show Answer

    ✅ b) 학생이라고 해요


✅ Conclusion

🗣️ Awesome work! Now you can report what others said using:

  • ✔️ ~다고 해요 for adjectives
  • ✔️ ~ㄴ/는다고 해요 for verbs
  • ✔️ ~(이)라고 해요 for nouns


📘 Coming Up Next

Tomorrow: Intermediate Day 23: Quoting Questions – ~냐고 해요 We’ll learn how to report questions someone asked!

Related Keywords:
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