한다체 Moods: -ㄴ/는다 · -냐 · -아라/어라 · -자 | Korean Grammar

You met the 한다체 statement on its own page; here is the whole family. The plain style (해라체) has a dedicated ending for each of the four sentence types: -ㄴ다/-는다 for statements, -(느)냐 for questions, -아라/어라 for commands, and -자 for proposals. Learning all four together matters for a reason most textbooks bury: these plain endings are Korean's citation forms — the base that indirect quotation is built on. You are not just learning how to sound blunt or write like a novel. You are learning the four shapes every reported statement, question, command, and proposal will fold back into.

The four moods at a glance

Mood	Ending	가다 (go)	먹다 (eat)	좋다 (be good)
Statement	-ㄴ다/-는다 (adj. -다)	간다	먹는다	좋다
Question	-(느)냐 → -냐	가느냐 / 가냐	먹느냐 / 먹냐	좋으냐 / 좋냐
Command	-아라/어라	가라	먹어라	—
Proposal	-자	가자	먹자	—

Commands and proposals apply only to action verbs — you can't order or propose "being good," so the adjective column is blank for those two moods, exactly as in every other speech level.

Statement: -ㄴ다/-는다 (adjectives -다)

The statement is the mood that splits word classes: action verbs take -ㄴ다/-는다 (a form built anew), while adjectives and the copula take a bare -다 identical to the dictionary entry. The full mechanics — vowel vs consonant stems, the ㄹ-drop, why 있다/없다 side with adjectives — are on the plain declarative page. A quick reminder:

봄이 오면 꽃이 핀다.

bomi omyeon kkochi pinda

When spring comes, the flowers bloom. (action verb → 핀다)

이 문제는 생각보다 어렵다.

i munjeneun saenggakboda eoryeopda

This problem is harder than expected. (adjective → 어렵다)

Question: -(느)냐, contracted to -냐

The plain question ending is historically -느냐 on action verbs and -(으)냐 on adjectives, but modern Korean overwhelmingly contracts both to a single blunt -냐. So 가느냐? and 가냐? are the same question, the shorter form far more common in speech.

너는 대체 뭘 원하냐?

neoneun daeche mwol wonhanya?

What on earth do you even want? (blunt plain question)

이게 정말 최선이냐?

ige jeongmal choeseoninya?

Is this really the best you can do? (plain question, copula → 이냐)

밥은 먹었냐?

babeun meogeonnya?

Have you eaten? (plain question, past)

Where does the plain question live? In quoted speech; in exam and quiz prompts; from an elder addressing a child; in drill instructions; in rhetorical and self-directed questions; and — this is the trap — among close male friends as everyday casual speech, where it overlaps with 반말. In literary or rhetorical writing it can carry weight and gravity:

인간에게 자유란 무엇이냐?

ingan-ege jayuran mueosinya?

What is freedom to a human being? (rhetorical, literary)

Command: -아라/어라

The plain imperative is -아라/어라, chosen by vowel harmony, with 하다 → 해라 and the usual vowel contractions (보다 → 봐라).

다음 문장을 읽어라.

da-eum munjang-eul ilgeora

Read the following sentence. (exam / drill instruction)

손을 깨끗이 씻어라.

soneul kkaekkeusi sisseora

Wash your hands clean. (a parent to a child)

포기하지 말고 끝까지 해라!

pogihaji malgo kkeutkkaji haera

Don't give up — see it through to the end! (urging)

The plain command's habitat is exam papers (읽어라, 고르라, 쓰라), an elder directing a junior, coaching and urging, and self-talk. Aimed sideways at a peer it sounds like scolding, which is why between equals people soften to the 해체 command 읽어 / 씻어 instead.

Proposal: -자

The plain "let's" is -자, attached straight to the stem with no harmony.

우리 이제 그만 싸우자.

uri ije geuman ssauja

Let's stop fighting now.

다 같이 힘내자!

da gachi himnaeja

Let's all cheer up and push on! (rallying)

💡

Both -아라/어라 and -자 are shared wholesale with intimate speech — they are the 반말 command and proposal (see 반말 moods). So 가라 and 가자 are ambiguous out of context: they're plain/written 한다체 and what you say to a close friend. Only the statement (간다 vs 가) and question (가냐 vs 가?) forms visibly separate the two styles.

The 요 trap: these endings have no polite form

The same warning that applies to 반말 applies here, because the endings overlap. You cannot make a plain command or proposal polite by tacking on 요: ×가라요 and ×가자요 do not exist. To go polite you switch to a different construction entirely — the honorific command 가세요 or the 해요체 proposal 같이 가요.

❌ 다 같이 힘내자요.

Wrong — 자 has no 요-form; the polite proposal is a different ending.

✅ 다 같이 힘내요.

da gachi himnaeyo

Let's all cheer up. (해요체 polite proposal)

The payoff: 한다체 is the base of indirect quotation

Now the reason this whole paradigm earns its place. Korean reports speech by taking the plain-style form of each mood and adding a quotative marker: -고 after statements and commands/proposals, -냐고 for questions. In other words, indirect quotation is literally 한다체 plus a suffix. Master the four plain moods and you have already built the four reported forms.

Direct mood	Plain form	Reported (indirect)
Statement	간다	간다고 했다 ("said [he] goes")
Question	가냐	가냐고 물었다 ("asked if [he] goes")
Command	가라	가라고 했다 ("told [him] to go")
Proposal	가자	가자고 했다 ("suggested they go")

친구가 내일 일찍 온다고 했다.

chinguga naeil iljjik ondago haetda

My friend said he'd come early tomorrow. (statement → 온다고)

엄마가 밥 먹었냐고 물었다.

eommaga bap meogeonnyago mureotda

Mom asked whether I'd eaten. (question → 먹었냐고)

선생님이 조용히 하라고 하셨다.

seonsaengnimi joyonghi harago hasyeotda

The teacher told us to be quiet. (command → 하라고)

동생이 같이 가자고 졸랐다.

dongsaeng-i gachi gajago jollatda

My little sibling begged that we go together. (proposal → 가자고)

The full workings of reported speech — the case where the command marker is -(으)라고 rather than the 반말 -아라고, tense shifts, and contractions — are on the quotation overview. The point here is that the four endings you just learned are the raw material.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding 요 to a plain command or proposal. -아라/어라 and -자 have no 요-form.

❌ 우리 이제 그만하자요.

Wrong — 자 takes no 요; the polite proposal is 그만해요 or 그만하죠.

✅ 우리 이제 그만해요.

uri ije geumanhaeyo

Let's stop now. (해요체)

2. Aiming -냐 or -아라 face-to-face at a peer for ordinary talk. Between equals these sound gruff or scolding; everyday casual uses 해체 (-아/어).

❌ 너 지금 어디 가느냐?

Too stiff/harsh spoken to a friend — everyday casual is 어디 가?

✅ 너 지금 어디 가?

neo jigeum eodi ga?

Where are you going right now? (해체 — natural casual)

3. Using the statement ending as a casual question. 한다체 has a separate question ending; 간다 can't ask a question.

❌ 너 밥 먹는다?

Wrong — 먹는다 is a statement; the plain question is 먹냐, and casual is 먹어?

✅ 너 밥 먹냐?

neo bap meongnya?

You eating? (blunt plain/casual question)

4. Adding -느냐 to an adjective. The 느 belongs to action verbs; adjectives take -(으)냐. So it's 좋으냐/좋냐, not ×좋느냐.

❌ 기분이 좋느냐?

Wrong — adjectives don't take 느; it's 좋으냐 or 좋냐.

✅ 기분이 좋으냐?

gibuni joeunya?

Are you in a good mood? (adjective question)

Key Takeaways

한다체 has a full four-mood paradigm: statement -ㄴ다/-는다 (adj. -다), question -(느)냐 → -냐, command -아라/어라, proposal -자.
The question -느냐 is for action verbs, -(으)냐 for adjectives; both collapse to blunt -냐 in modern use.
Command and proposal are shared with 반말 — 가라/가자 are ambiguous between plain-written and intimate; only statements and questions visibly split the styles.
These endings have no 요-form — politeness comes from switching construction (같이 가요, 가세요), never ×가자요.
한다체 is the base of indirect quotation: 간다고 했다, 가냐고 물었다, 가라고 했다, 가자고 했다 — the four plain moods plus a quotative suffix.

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