Korean Indirect Quotation: -다고, -냐고, and -라고

In Brief

Korean chooses a different quotation ending according to the kind of message being reported: -다고 for statements, -냐고 for questions, -(으)라고 for commands, and -자고 for suggestions. Add a reporting verb such as 하다 “say,” 묻다 “ask,” or 말하다 “tell”: 간다고 했어요 means “(someone) said they were going.”

Overview

Indirect quotation reports the content of someone’s words without repeating the exact sentence as a direct quote. In English, this is the difference between “Mina said, ‘I’m busy’” and “Mina said that she was busy.” Korean marks that reported content with an ending attached directly to its final predicate (the verb, adjective, or noun expression that completes the quoted message).

At A2, the essential task is to recognize four message types and select the matching ending. Statements use the -다고 family, questions use -냐고, commands use -(으)라고, and suggestions use -자고. The entire quoted clause comes before a reporting verb, most often 하다. That reporting verb is then conjugated for politeness and time: 해요, 했어요, 할 거예요, and so on.

This structure matters because it is common in everyday conversation. You use it to pass on news, explain what somebody asked, relay instructions, or describe a plan that people proposed. Unlike English reported speech, Korean normally does not require an automatic “backshift” from present to past merely because “said” is past. The tense inside the quotation expresses when the reported event happens relative to the situation being described.

How It Works

The basic structure is:

reported clause + quotation ending + reporting verb

The quoted speaker and listener are often omitted when context makes them clear:

• 민수가 내일 간다고 했어요. — Minsu said that he was going tomorrow.
• 선생님이 조용히 하라고 했어요. — The teacher told us to be quiet.

Here 민수가 is the person whose words are reported. In the second sentence, the person receiving the instruction is understood from context.

The four core patterns

Message being reported	Core ending	Typical reporting verb	Basic example
Statement	-다고 family	하다, 말하다	바쁘다고 했어요. “(They) said they were busy.”
Question	-냐고 family	묻다, 물어보다	바쁘냐고 물었어요. “(They) asked whether I was busy.”
Command	-(으)라고	하다, 말하다	기다리라고 했어요. “(They) told me to wait.”
Suggestion	-자고	하다, 제안하다	같이 먹자고 했어요. “(They) suggested eating together.”

The labels “statement,” “question,” “command,” and “suggestion” describe the original speaker’s intention. Choose the quotation ending from that intention, not from the reporting verb alone.

Reporting statements: the -다고 family

Statements have more than one surface form. The choice depends on what ends the quoted clause.

Quoted predicate	Present statement form	Example
Action verb	-ㄴ/는다고	가다 → 간다고; 먹다 → 먹는다고
Descriptive verb (Korean “adjective”)	-다고	맛있다 → 맛있다고; 춥다 → 춥다고
Noun + 이다	-(이)라고	학생이다 → 학생이라고; 의사이다 → 의사라고
아니다	아니라고	학생이 아니다 → 학생이 아니라고

A descriptive verb is a word such as 크다 “be big” or 좋다 “be good.” It behaves like a predicate in Korean, so it does not need a separate word meaning “is.”

For present action verbs, attach -ㄴ다고 after a vowel or ㄹ, and -는다고 after most other final consonants:

• 가다 → 간다고 해요 — says that someone is going
• 살다 → 산다고 해요 — says that someone lives
• 먹다 → 먹는다고 해요 — says that someone eats
• 읽다 → 읽는다고 해요 — says that someone reads

With a noun statement, -(이)라고 is not a command. It is the indirect quotation form of 이다 “to be”: 친구라고 했어요 means “(They) said (the person) was a friend.” Context and the form before -라고 tell you which use is intended.

Tense inside a statement

For past events, place -았/었- before -다고. For a future plan or prediction, -(으)ㄹ 거라고 is especially common.

Time of reported content	Pattern	Example
Present action	-ㄴ/는다고	지금 일한다고 했어요. — She said she was working now.
Present state	-다고	피곤하다고 했어요. — She said she was tired.
Past	-았/었다고	어제 일했다고 했어요. — She said she had worked yesterday.
Future / plan	-(으)ㄹ 거라고	내일 일할 거라고 했어요. — She said she would work tomorrow.

The final reporting verb has its own tense. Compare:

• 지금 비가 온다고 해요. — They say it is raining now.
• 지금 비가 온다고 했어요. — They said it was/is raining now.
• 어제 비가 왔다고 했어요. — They said it rained yesterday.

English translations often change tense naturally, but do not copy English tense changes mechanically. Decide first when the event in the quoted content occurs, and mark that tense inside the Korean quotation.

Reporting questions: -냐고

Attach -냐고 to the content of a question, then normally use 묻다 or 물어보다 “ask,” though 하다 is also possible.

• 뭐냐고 물었어요. — He asked what it was.
• 어디에 가냐고 물었어요. — She asked where I was going.
• 괜찮냐고 물어봤어요. — I asked whether it was okay.

For past questions, tense appears before -냐고: 갔냐고 “whether someone went.” With nouns, use -(이)냐고: 학생이냐고 “whether someone is a student.” In careful or more formal styles, present action verbs may appear with -느냐고 (가느냐고), but shortened -냐고 forms are extremely common in ordinary speech.

A Korean question word stays in its normal place. English may need “what it was” rather than “what was it,” but Korean does not rearrange the clause:

• 이게 뭐예요? → 이게 뭐냐고 물었어요.
• “What is this?” → “(Someone) asked what this was.”

Reporting commands: -(으)라고

Use -라고 after a verb stem ending in a vowel or ㄹ, and -으라고 after most other consonants.

• 가다 → 가라고 했어요. — told someone to go
• 기다리다 → 기다리라고 했어요. — told someone to wait
• 앉다 → 앉으라고 했어요. — told someone to sit
• 읽다 → 읽으라고 했어요. — told someone to read

For a negative command, use -지 말라고:

• 걱정하지 말라고 했어요. — told someone not to worry
• 늦지 말라고 했어요. — told someone not to be late

The polite ending from the original command does not survive. Whether the original words were 가!, 가세요, or 가십시오, the basic reported command can be 가라고 했어요. Politeness is shown in the surrounding sentence and can be clarified with context.

Reporting suggestions: -자고

Attach -자고 to an action verb stem when the original speaker proposed doing something together:

• 만나다 → 만나자고 했어요. — suggested meeting
• 먹다 → 먹자고 했어요. — suggested eating
• 같이 공부하자고 했어요. — suggested studying together

A suggestion includes the speaker in the proposed action. A command directs another person to act. This contrast helps you choose between -자고 and -(으)라고:

• 같이 가자고 했어요. — She suggested that we go together.
• 먼저 가라고 했어요. — She told me to go first.

Choosing the reporting verb

하다 is flexible and very common. More specific verbs make the relationship clearer.

Reporting verb	Main use	Example
하다	say; give the quoted message	온다고 했어요.
말하다	say, tell	오라고 말했어요.
묻다 / 물어보다	ask	오냐고 물었어요.
대답하다	answer	모른다고 대답했어요.
제안하다	propose	쉬자고 제안했어요.

With 말하다, a listener can be marked by 에게/한테: 친구한테 일찍 오라고 말했어요 “I told my friend to come early.” In conversation, 하다 often carries enough meaning by itself.

Examples in Context

Korean	English	Note
지수는 오늘 바쁘다고 했어요.	Jisu said she was busy today.	Present descriptive verb
민호가 다음 달에 이사한다고 했어요.	Minho said he was moving next month.	Present action form for a plan
유나가 벌써 숙제를 끝냈다고 했어요.	Yuna said she had already finished her homework.	Past quoted event
동생은 내일 집에 있을 거라고 했어요.	My younger sibling said they would be home tomorrow.	Future with -(으)ㄹ 거라고
그분이 새 선생님이라고 들었어요.	I heard that person is the new teacher.	Noun + 이다; reporting verb 듣다
준호가 이 가방이 누구 거냐고 물었어요.	Junho asked whose bag this was.	Question word retained in place
엄마가 저녁을 먹었냐고 물어봤어요.	Mom asked whether I had eaten dinner.	Past yes/no question
직원이 예약한 사람이 맞냐고 물었어요.	The employee asked whether I was the person who booked.	Spoken -냐고 question
의사 선생님이 물을 많이 마시라고 했어요.	The doctor told me to drink plenty of water.	Command after a vowel
안내원이 여기에서 기다리라고 했어요.	The guide told us to wait here.	Command after ㄹ
아버지가 운전할 때 전화하지 말라고 했어요.	My father told me not to use the phone while driving.	Negative command
친구가 주말에 같이 등산하자고 했어요.	A friend suggested hiking together this weekend.	Shared suggestion
저는 너무 늦었으니 택시를 타자고 제안했어요.	Since it was very late, I suggested taking a taxi.	-자고 with 제안하다
수진이는 그 식당 음식이 맛있다고 해요.	Sujin says the food at that restaurant is delicious.	Present report with 해요

Korean often leaves pronouns unspoken. A sentence such as 간다고 했어요 may mean “I said I was going,” “he said he was going,” or “she said she was going.” English forces a choice more often, so the translation depends on context rather than on the quotation ending itself.

Common Mistakes

1. Using -다고 for every kind of quotation

• Wrong: 어디에 간다고 물었어요. (intended: “I asked where she was going.”)
• Right: 어디에 가냐고 물었어요.
• Why: The original message is a question, so it needs a question quotation ending. -다고 reports a statement.

2. Treating every -라고 as a command

• Wrong interpretation: 민지가 의사라고 했어요. = “Minji told someone to doctor.”
• Right: 민지가 의사라고 했어요. = “Minji said she was a doctor.”
• Why: After a noun, -(이)라고 reports a statement with 이다. Command -(으)라고 attaches to an action verb stem: 가라고, 먹으라고.

3. Forgetting -는- with present action verbs

• Wrong: 매일 책을 읽다고 했어요.
• Right: 매일 책을 읽는다고 했어요.
• Why: Most present-tense action verbs ending in a consonant take -는다고. Descriptive verbs take plain -다고: 좋다고, 춥다고.

4. Copying the original polite ending

• Wrong: 오세요라고 했어요.
• Right: 오라고 했어요.
• Why: Indirect quotation replaces the original sentence ending. A reported command uses -(으)라고, not -세요 + 라고.

5. Confusing a command with a suggestion

• Wrong: 친구가 같이 영화를 보라고 했어요. (if the friend proposed watching it together)
• Right: 친구가 같이 영화를 보자고 했어요.
• Why: -자고 includes the speaker in a proposed shared action. -(으)라고 directs the listener to act.

6. Moving every quoted verb into the past

• Wrong: 민수가 내일 갔다고 했어요. (intended: “Minsu said he would go tomorrow.”)
• Right: 민수가 내일 갈 거라고 했어요.
• Why: The reported event is future, even though the act of speaking happened in the past. The two clauses mark their own time.

Usage Notes

Subjects, speakers, and listeners

Several people can be involved in one sentence: the current speaker, the person whose words are reported, and the person those words were addressed to. Korean omits any of them when they are obvious. Add names or particles when ambiguity matters:

• 민수가 지연이에게 일찍 오라고 했어요. — Minsu told Jiyeon to come early.

Here 민수가 marks the source of the command, and 지연이에게 marks its recipient. English pronouns such as “I,” “she,” and “you” may change when a quotation is reported; Korean usually resolves those references through context rather than obligatory pronoun changes.

하다, 말하다, and 묻다

A question is most naturally followed by 묻다 or conversational 물어보다. A command can use either 하다 or 말하다. -고 하다 is not limited to literal speech: with verbs such as 듣다 “hear,” 대답하다 “answer,” and 생각하다 “think,” the quoted clause can report information, an answer, or a thought.

Direct and indirect quotation

Direct quotation preserves the speaker’s exact wording and commonly uses -라고 하다 after the quoted words:

• “내일 갈게요”라고 했어요. — She said, “I’ll go tomorrow.”
• 내일 갈 거라고 했어요. — She said that she would go tomorrow.

Quotation marks and the intact polite ending identify the first as a direct quote. In the second, 갈 거라고 is the indirect statement form.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following reductions and formal variants at A2, but you will hear them often.

Colloquial contractions

In everyday speech, -다고 해요, -냐고 해요, -라고 해요, and -자고 해요 can contract. Common hearsay forms include -대요, while quoted questions and commands may sound like -냬요 and -(으)래요. For example, 맛있대요 means “They say it’s delicious,” and 오래요 can mean “(Someone) says/tells you to come.” These compact forms belong to the broader hearsay system and deserve separate study; first make sure you can reconstruct the full form.

Formal question variants

Traditional form distinctions are more visible in formal writing and careful speech: action verbs can use -느냐고, descriptive verbs -(으)냐고, and nouns -(이)냐고. Modern conversation often levels these to forms with -냐고, such as 가냐고 and 좋냐고. Recognizing both styles is more important than forcing the longer form into every casual conversation.

Requests are not always plain commands

A request phrased with -아/어 주세요 is often reported with -아/어 달라고 하다 when the requested action benefits the original speaker: 도와 달라고 했어요 “(They) asked me to help them.” If someone asks for an action on another person’s behalf, -아/어 주라고 하다 may appear. This distinction is more advanced than the basic command pattern -(으)라고, but it explains why polite requests are not always reported as simple orders.

Perspective words may change

Words tied to the original speaker’s viewpoint—such as 여기 “here,” 내일 “tomorrow,” and kinship or personal references—may need reinterpretation when the report is made later or elsewhere. Korean has no single automatic conversion rule comparable to a classroom list of English “today → that day” changes. Choose words that are clear in the current context.

Practice Tips

1. Sort before you transform. Take short direct messages and label each one statement, question, command, or suggestion. Only then attach -다고, -냐고, -(으)라고, or -자고. This prevents the common habit of using -다고 everywhere.
2. Build four versions around one topic. For example: 비가 온다고 했어요 (statement), 비가 오냐고 물었어요 (question), 우산을 가져가라고 했어요 (command), and 택시를 타자고 했어요 (suggestion). Contrasting the message types makes the endings easier to remember.
3. Listen for the final two verbs. In real speech, focus first on the quotation ending and the reporting verb: -다고 했어요, -냐고 물었어요, -라고 했어요. Then replay the sentence and identify who spoke, who listened, and when the reported event happened.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Polite Ending -아/어요 — helps you conjugate the final reporting verb naturally as 해요, 했어요, or 물어봤어요.
• Next step: Hearsay -다고 하다 / -대요 — develops statement reporting and common conversational contractions.
• Later extension: Reported Commands and Requests — adds nuanced request forms such as -아/어 달라고 and -아/어 주라고.