Reported Commands and Requests in Korean

In Brief

Use verb stem + -(으)라고 하다 to report “Tell/told someone to do…,” -지 말라고 하다 for “Tell/told someone not to do…,” and -아/어 달라고 하다 when the original speaker asks someone to do something for them. Korean often leaves the speaker and listener unstated, so context may supply the English “he told me,” “she asked us,” and similar details.

Overview

Reported commands and requests let you pass on what one person wanted another person to do. Instead of repeating the exact words, you place a quotation ending after the verb and then add a reporting verb such as 하다 “say,” 말하다 “say,” 부탁하다 “request,” or 전하다 “convey.” A quotation ending is a form that marks the preceding clause as someone’s words or message.

At B2, the important skill is not merely recognizing -라고 했어요. You need to choose a form that preserves the original intention: an instruction, a prohibition, or a request for help. English often uses tell, ask, an infinitive (“to wait”), or a clause (“that I should wait”). Korean instead marks the quoted verb itself and normally places tense on the final reporting verb.

These patterns build on general indirect quotation. They occur constantly in relayed messages, workplace instructions, family conversations, news reports, and explanations of what someone asked you to do.

How It Works

A reported command contains two roles that English usually states explicitly:

• the original speaker, who gives the command or makes the request;
• the original addressee, the person expected to act.

In 선생님이 학생들에게 조용히 하라고 했어요, the teacher is the original speaker and the students are the original addressees. Korean marks them with 이/가 and 에게/한테, but either may disappear when already clear.

The basic order is:

[speaker] + [addressee에게/한테] + [command or request quotation] + reporting verb

Positive commands: -(으)라고 하다

Attach -(으)라고 to the verb stem. The stem is the verb after removing -다 from its dictionary form.

Verb-stem ending	Form	Dictionary form	Reported form
Vowel or ㄹ	-라고 하다	가다, 오다, 만들다	가라고 하다, 오라고 하다, 만들라고 하다
Other consonant	-으라고 하다	먹다, 앉다, 읽다	먹으라고 하다, 앉으라고 하다, 읽으라고 하다

The ㄹ rule is worth noticing: 만들다 → 만들라고, not 만들으라고. Irregular verbs behave according to their usual stem changes where relevant: 듣다 → 들으라고 하다 and 돕다 → 도우라고 하다.

The final 하다 carries the reporting tense and speech level:

• 오라고 해요 — says/tells someone to come
• 오라고 했어요 — said/told someone to come
• 오라고 할 거예요 — will say/tell someone to come

The quoted command itself normally does not receive a past-tense marker. English tense is recovered from the situation and the final reporting verb.

Negative commands: -지 말라고 하다

To report “Don’t do it,” attach -지 말라고 하다 directly to the verb stem:

걱정하다 → 걱정하지 말라고 하다 늦다 → 늦지 말라고 하다 문을 열다 → 문을 열지 말라고 하다

This reports a prohibition or negative instruction. Do not build it with ordinary sentence negation 안 or -지 않다: the fixed command pattern is -지 말다, followed here by -라고 하다.

Requests for the speaker: -아/어 달라고 하다

Use -아/어 달라고 하다 when the original speaker asks the addressee to perform an action for the original speaker’s benefit. 달라고 is related to 주다 “give,” but in this construction it presents the requested favor from the requester’s point of view.

Base action	Direct request	Reported request
도와주다, to help	도와주세요.	도와 달라고 했어요.
기다려 주다, to wait for someone	기다려 주세요.	기다려 달라고 했어요.
설명해 주다, to explain for someone	설명해 주세요.	설명해 달라고 했어요.

Spacing varies in published Korean: auxiliary 주다/달다 constructions are often written with a space, as in 도와 달라고, though joined spelling such as 도와달라고 is also widely seen and accepted in many contexts. Be consistent in your own writing.

With a noun, N을/를 달라고 하다 means “ask for N” or literally “say to give N”: 물을 달라고 했어요 “(Someone) asked for water.” This is related but does not contain an action verb in -아/어.

Commands with 주라고 versus requests with 달라고

The contrast depends on whose benefit is presented:

• 민수가 저에게 도와 달라고 했어요. — Minsu asked me to help him.
• 민수가 저에게 지수를 도와주라고 했어요. — Minsu told me to help Jisu.

Use 달라고 when the quoted speaker requests the favor for themself. Use -아/어 주라고 when reporting an instruction to do something for another person. In real conversation, the beneficiary may be omitted, so context still matters.

Reporting verbs and particles

하다 is the neutral, common reporting verb. Other verbs make the force clearer:

• 말하다 — say or tell
• 부탁하다 — request, ask a favor
• 명령하다 — order, command
• 당부하다 — strongly advise or urge someone to remember
• 전하다 — pass on or convey a message

The addressee is commonly marked by 에게 in neutral writing, 한테 in conversation, and 께 when respect is required: 직원들에게 확인하라고 했어요, 동생한테 기다리라고 했어요, 선생님께 쉬시라고 말씀드렸어요.

Examples in Context

Korean	English	Note
팀장이 오늘 안에 보고서를 보내라고 했어요.	The team leader told us to send the report by today.	Positive instruction; the addressee is understood.
의사가 며칠 푹 쉬라고 했어요.	The doctor told me to rest well for a few days.	ㄹ-final stem: 쉬다 takes -라고.
선생님이 학생들에게 책을 읽으라고 했어요.	The teacher told the students to read the book.	Consonant-final stem: 읽다 takes -으라고.
아버지가 운전하면서 전화하지 말라고 하셨어요.	My father told me not to use the phone while driving.	Negative command; honorific reporting verb 하셨어요.
직원이 여기에서 사진을 찍지 말라고 했어요.	A staff member told us not to take pictures here.	A prohibition in a public setting.
민지가 저한테 이 상자를 옮겨 달라고 했어요.	Minji asked me to move this box for her.	The requested action benefits Minji.
친구가 결과가 나올 때까지 기다려 달라고 했어요.	My friend asked me to wait until the results came out.	A request, not simply an order.
손님이 물을 한 잔 달라고 했어요.	The customer asked for a glass of water.	Noun + 을/를 달라고 하다.
누나가 저에게 조카를 좀 봐 달라고 부탁했어요.	My older sister asked me to look after my niece or nephew for a while.	부탁하다 explicitly marks a favor.
부장님이 김 대리에게 신입 사원을 도와주라고 하셨어요.	The department head told Assistant Manager Kim to help the new employee.	주라고: the help is for a third person.
어머니가 할머니께 천천히 걸으시라고 말씀드렸어요.	My mother told Grandma to walk slowly.	-(으)시라고 respects the person acting.
안내 방송에서 승객들에게 안전선 안으로 들어오라고 했어요.	The announcement told passengers to move inside the safety line.	A relayed public instruction.

English translations must often insert a pronoun that Korean does not contain. For example, 기다려 달라고 했어요 identifies neither who asked nor whom they asked. Translate only after checking the wider context.

Common Mistakes

1. Using -으라고 after an ㄹ-final stem

• Wrong: 문을 열으라고 했어요.
• Right: 문을 열라고 했어요.
• Why: A stem ending in ㄹ takes -라고, just like a vowel-final stem.

2. Reporting “don’t” with ordinary negation

• Wrong: 걱정하지 않으라고 했어요.
• Right: 걱정하지 말라고 했어요.
• Why: A negative command uses -지 말다. -지 않다 makes an ordinary negative statement and is not the standard form for reporting a prohibition.

3. Treating every request as 달라고

• Wrong: 선생님이 학생에게 친구를 도와 달라고 했어요. (if the intended meaning is “The teacher told the student to help a friend.”)
• Right: 선생님이 학생에게 친구를 도와주라고 했어요.
• Why: 달라고 normally makes the quoted speaker the beneficiary. Here the friend benefits, so 주라고 fits the intended instruction.

4. Adding past tense inside the quoted command

• Wrong: 어제 일찍 왔다고 했어요. (for “told me to come early yesterday”)
• Right: 어제 일찍 오라고 했어요.
• Why: 왔다고 했어요 reports the statement “(someone) came.” A command takes -(으)라고, while the final 했어요 marks the report as past.

5. Assuming -라고 always reports a command

• Wrong interpretation: 학생이라고 했어요 = “told someone to be a student”
• Right interpretation: 학생이라고 했어요 = “said that someone was a student”
• Why: After a noun, (이)라고 하다 can report a statement or a name. Identify the word before 라고: a command pattern here attaches to a verb stem.

6. Inventing speakers and listeners too confidently

• Risky translation: 빨리 오라고 했어요. = “He told me to come quickly.”
• Safer without context: “Someone said/told [someone] to come quickly.”
• Why: Korean commonly omits recoverable participants. “He” and “me” are possible, but the sentence alone does not specify them.

Usage Notes

Command versus request is not only grammar

-(으)라고 하다 reports the content as an instruction, but it does not automatically mean the original speaker was rude or harsh. A doctor’s advice, a parent’s reminder, and an official direction may all use it. The reporting verb and context show the force: 명령했어요 sounds explicitly commanding, while 부탁했어요 frames the message as a request.

-아/어 달라고 하다 clearly presents a favor requested for the speaker. Adding 좀 can reflect the softer tone of the original request: 조금만 기다려 달라고 했어요 “They asked me to wait just a little.”

Respect can appear in two places

Add -시- inside the quotation when the person expected to act deserves respect: 앉으시라고 했어요 “(Someone) told them to sit.” Make the reporting verb honorific when its subject deserves respect: 선생님이 읽으라고 하셨어요 “The teacher told us to read.” Both can occur together because they honor different participants.

In especially respectful speech, 말씀하시다 or 말씀드리다 may replace plain 말하다. Choose 말씀드리다 when the current speaker humbly reports speaking to a respected person: 할아버지께 병원에 가시라고 말씀드렸어요 “I told Grandfather to go to the hospital.” Because a direct command to a senior can still sound presumptuous, the social situation matters as much as the honorific form.

Spoken contractions

In conversation, -라고 하다 often contracts:

• 오라고 해요 → 오래요
• 기다리라고 했어요 → 기다리랬어요
• 하지 말라고 했어요 → 하지 말랬어요

These are common in speech and informal writing. The full forms are clearer for careful writing and are the best forms to learn first. Do not confuse command 오래요 with an unrelated use of 오래 meaning “for a long time”; context and pronunciation resolve the sentence.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Passing on someone else’s request

Viewpoint stays with the person whose words are being reported. In 지수가 민호에게 자기를 도와 달라고 했어요, 달라고 presents Jisu as requesting help for herself. The reflexive 자기 usually points back to the relevant third-person subject, here Jisu. In a longer conversation, however, viewpoint can become hard to track; repeating a name is often clearer.

A request can also be embedded inside another report:

민호는 지수가 자기를 도와 달라고 했다고 말했어요. “Minho said that Jisu had asked him to help her.”

This is grammatically possible, but Korean speakers may restructure a heavily nested sentence to avoid ambiguity. At an advanced level, clarity is more important than displaying every possible quotation layer.

Softening your report

Reporting another person’s words as a blunt command can affect how that person sounds. Compare:

• 팀장이 빨리 끝내라고 했어요. — The team leader told us to finish quickly.
• 팀장이 빨리 끝내 달라고 부탁했어요. — The team leader asked us to finish quickly.
• 팀장이 빨리 끝내면 좋겠다고 했어요. — The team leader said it would be good if we finished quickly.

These are not interchangeable quotations. They present different degrees of directness. Choose the form that accurately reflects the original message rather than automatically translating English asked as one fixed Korean pattern.

Requests to receive an object versus requests for an action

Keep these structures separate:

• 자료를 달라고 했어요. — asked for the materials
• 자료를 보내 달라고 했어요. — asked someone to send the materials
• 자료를 보내주라고 했어요. — told someone to send the materials for another person

The noun pattern requests possession of a thing; the -아/어 달라고 pattern requests an action; -아/어 주라고 can direct an action for a third party.

Practice Tips

1. Transform short direct quotes. Change “빨리 오세요.” into 빨리 오라고 했어요, “걱정하지 마세요.” into 걱정하지 말라고 했어요, and “도와주세요.” into 도와 달라고 했어요. This links each reported form to its communicative purpose.
2. Label the roles. For every sentence, identify the original speaker, original addressee, and beneficiary. This makes the choice between 달라고 and 주라고 much easier.
3. Listen for contractions, answer with full forms. Notice -래요, -랬어요, and 말래요 in dramas or conversations, then rewrite what you hear using -라고 해요/했어요 until the underlying structure becomes automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Indirect Quotation -다고/냐고/라고 — introduces the wider Korean system for reporting statements, questions, commands, and suggestions.