Reported Proposals: -자고 하다 | Korean Grammar

When a friend says "let's grab lunch" and you later relay it, English builds a whole subordinate clause: she *suggested that we grab lunch, or she **proposed grabbing lunch. Korean is far tidier. Every original suggestion — whether it was 같이 가요? ("shall we go together?"), 갑시다 ("let's go," formal), or the plain 가자 ("let's go") — reduces to a single propositive ending *-자, and reporting it is just a matter of adding -고 하다: -자고 하다. One ending covers the whole family of "let's" forms, which is why -자고 하다 is one of the most economical reporting patterns in the language.

Building the reported proposal: -자고 하다

Attach -자고 directly to the verb stem — there is no linking vowel and no consonant/vowel split, so it behaves the same after every stem — then close with 하다, 제안하다 ("propose"), or the casual 그러다 ("say so / go like").

Verb	Original "let's" form	Reported proposal
가다 (go)	가자 / 갑시다 / 가요?	가자고 하다
먹다 (eat)	먹자 / 먹읍시다	먹자고 하다
보다 (watch)	보자 / 봅시다	보자고 하다
쉬다 (rest)	쉬자 / 쉽시다	쉬자고 하다

친구가 같이 등산 가자고 했어요.

chinguga gachi deungsan gajago haesseoyo

My friend suggested we go hiking together.

오늘 저녁에 영화 보자고 했어요.

oneul jeonyeoge yeonghwa bojago haesseoyo

He suggested we watch a movie tonight.

다들 힘들어 보여서 잠깐 쉬자고 했어요.

dadeul himdeureo boyeoseo jamkkan swijago haesseoyo

Everyone looked tired, so I suggested we rest for a bit.

The reason -자고 stays so uniform is that the original propositive -자 already ignores the consonant/vowel distinction — 가자, 먹자, 앉자 all take a bare -자 — and the reported form simply inherits that simplicity. Whatever politeness the original wore (the intimate 가자, the polite 가요?, the formal 갑시다) is neutralized to plain -자 before -고 하다, so 갑시다 and 가자 both report as 가자고.

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-자고 하다 always reports a first-person-inclusive "we." The whole point of a propositive is that the speaker is in the proposed action alongside the listener. If the speaker is telling someone else to act while staying out of it, that is a command — -(으)라고 하다 — not a proposal.

The first-person round-up

Because -자고 pulls everyone into the action, it is the natural frame for reporting a group rallying-cry — "let's all…", "let's do it together."

다 같이 먹자고 했어요.

da gachi meokjago haesseoyo

He suggested we all eat together.

우리 다음에 꼭 다시 만나자고 했어요.

uri daeume kkok dasi mannajago haesseoyo

They said let's definitely meet again next time.

The negative: -지 말자고 하다

To report "suggested we not ~," negate the propositive with -지 말다 and report it: -지 말자고 하다. This is the "let's not" of reported speech, and it is worth memorizing as a set because learners frequently reach for the prohibition -지 말라고 (which means "told [someone] not to") by mistake.

오늘은 만나지 말자고 했어요.

oneureun mannaji maljago haesseoyo

She suggested we not meet today.

비도 오는데 택시 타지 말자고 했어요.

bido oneunde taeksi taji maljago haesseoyo

Since it's raining, he suggested we not take a taxi.

The contrast is sharp and worth saying out loud: 만나지 말자고 = "let's not meet" (we're both out of it), while 만나지 말라고 = "don't meet [them]" (an order aimed at you). One neutral ending, 자 vs 라, flips a shared plan into a one-sided command.

하다, 제안하다, 그러다

The verb that closes -자고 is not locked to 하다. Swap in 제안하다 for a more formal "propose," or the very colloquial 그러다 for casual relaying in speech.

팀장님이 회의를 다음 주로 미루자고 제안했어요.

timjangnimi hoeuireul daeum juro mirujago jeanhaesseoyo

The team lead proposed that we postpone the meeting to next week.

친구가 노래방 가자고 그랬어요.

chinguga noraebang gajago geuraesseoyo

My friend was like, let's go to karaoke. (그러다, casual)

In fast speech, -자고 해요 further contracts to -재요 ("[someone]'s suggesting we ~"), so 가자고 해요 → 가재요. That spoken contraction, along with the whole family of -대요/-냬요/-래요/-재요 forms, lives on deixis shifts and spoken contractions.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1 — Using -(으)라고 where -자고 is meant. Both feel "directive," but -(으)라고 is a command aimed at you, while -자고 is a suggestion for us. This is the error that most often muddies a reported sentence.

❌ 친구가 같이 가라고 했어요.

Wrong for 'suggested we go together' — 가라고 means 'told me to go,' leaving the friend out of it.

✅ 친구가 같이 가자고 했어요.

chinguga gachi gajago haesseoyo

My friend suggested we go together.

Mistake 2 — Over-applying -자고 where a command belongs. The mirror-image slip: an instruction meant for you alone is not a proposal.

❌ 의사가 매일 운동하자고 했어요.

Wrong if the doctor is ordering the patient — this says 'the doctor suggested we exercise together.' Use 운동하라고 for an instruction.

✅ 의사가 매일 운동하라고 했어요.

uisaga maeil undongharago haesseoyo

The doctor told me to exercise every day.

Mistake 3 — Using -지 말라고 for a "let's not" proposal. A shared "let's not" is -지 말자고; -지 말라고 is a one-sided prohibition.

❌ 오늘은 만나지 말라고 했어요.

Wrong for 'suggested we not meet' — this means 'told me not to meet [them].' Use 만나지 말자고 for a mutual 'let's not.'

✅ 오늘은 만나지 말자고 했어요.

oneureun mannaji maljago haesseoyo

She suggested we not meet today.

Mistake 4 — Keeping the polite -(으)ㅂ시다 inside the reported clause. The original propositive neutralizes to plain -자 before -고 하다; you cannot report ×갑시다고.

❌ 친구가 같이 갑시다고 했어요.

Wrong — the formal 갑시다 must reduce to plain 가자 before 고 하다: 가자고.

✅ 친구가 같이 가자고 했어요.

chinguga gachi gajago haesseoyo

My friend suggested we go together.

Key Takeaways

Report a suggestion with verb stem + -자고 + 하다/제안하다/그러다 — no linking vowel, identical after every stem.
-자고 always reports a first-person-inclusive "we"; if the speaker stays out of the action, it is a command, not a proposal.
The original "let's" form (가자 / 갑시다 / 가요?) neutralizes to plain -자 before -고 하다.
Negative "let's not" = -지 말자고 하다 — do not confuse it with the prohibition -지 말라고 ("told not to").
The core contrast: -자고 ("suggested we go") vs -(으)라고 ("told me to go"). In speech, -자고 해요 contracts to -재요.

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