English reports speech by backshifting the tense and inserting "that": "He says he is coming" → "He said he was coming." Korean does neither. There is no tense backshift and no "that." You take the quoted sentence, keep its tense exactly as spoken, and simply re-end it with one of four quotative endings that matches the original sentence type, then top it off with 하다 ("say"). A statement re-ends in -다고, a question in -냐고, a command in -(으)라고, a suggestion in -자고. This page tables all four, together with the contracted forms (-대 / -냬 / -래 / -재) that are what people actually say out loud.
The reference table
하다 ("say") can be swapped for 말하다, 묻다 ("ask"), 전하다 ("relay"), etc. The contraction column fuses the quoted ending with 해요 into one word.
| Quoted type | Full form (+ 하다) | Contraction (해요체) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement — verb | -ㄴ다고/는다고 한다 | -ㄴ대요 / 는대요 | 간대요 (gandaeyo) · 먹는대요 (meongneundaeyo) |
| Statement — adjective | -다고 한다 | -대요 | 크대요 (keudaeyo) · 맛있대요 (masitdaeyo) |
| Statement — noun (copula) | -(이)라고 한다 | -(이)래요 | 학생이래요 (haksaeng-iraeyo) |
| Statement — past | -았/었다고 한다 | -았/었대요 | 먹었대요 (meogeotdaeyo) |
| Question | -(으)냐고 / -냐고 한다 | -냬요 | 가냬요 (ganyaeyo) · 먹냬요 (meongnyaeyo) |
| Command | -(으)라고 한다 | -(으)래요 | 오래요 (oraeyo) · 먹으래요 (meogeuraeyo) |
| Suggestion | -자고 한다 | -재요 | 가재요 (gajaeyo) |
Statements: the verb/adjective split lives inside -다고
The declarative quotative hides the same verb-vs-adjective split you see everywhere in Korean. A verb takes -ㄴ다고/는다고 (간다고, 먹는다고) — the very -ㄴ다/는다 of the plain 한다체 statement. An adjective or 있다/없다 takes bare -다고 (크다고, 맛있다고). Getting this split wrong (×가다고 for 간다고) is the single most common beginner error with quotation.
지금 밖에 비가 많이 온다고 해요.
jigeum bakke biga mani ondago haeyo
They say it's raining a lot outside right now. (verb → -ㄴ다고)
이 식당 진짜 맛있대요.
i sikdang jinjja masitdaeyo
They say this restaurant is really good. (adjective/있다 → -대요, contracted)
민수가 내일 온대요.
Minsuga naeil ondaeyo
Minsu says he's coming tomorrow. (verb 오다 → 온대요)
The contractions are the everyday default
In real conversation, nobody says the full -ㄴ다고 해요 unless they are being careful or emphatic. The fused forms -대 / -냬 / -래 / -재 (polite -대요 …) carry all reported speech in ordinary talk, and they double as a gossip/hearsay marker — 이거 맛있대 is "they say this is good / I hear this is good." Learn the full forms to understand the logic, but reach for the contractions to sound natural.
언니가 저더러 일찍 자래요.
eonniga jeodeoreo iljjik jaraeyo
My sister tells me to go to bed early. (command 자다 → 자래요)
친구가 같이 영화 보재요.
chinguga gachi yeonghwa bojaeyo
My friend suggests we watch a movie together. (suggestion 보다 → 보재요)
선생님이 숙제 다 했냬요.
seonsaengnimi sukje da haennyaeyo
The teacher is asking whether I finished all the homework. (past question 했냐고 → 했냬요)
Commands and questions: don't let them collapse into -다고
Because -다고 is so common, learners over-extend it. But a reported command must be -(으)라고 (오라고, 먹으라고), and a reported question must be -냐고 (가냐고, 몇 살이냐고). Saying ×온다고 했어요 to mean "told me to come" is a real error — that literally reports the statement "he is coming." The listener hears a completely different message.
엄마가 방 좀 치우라고 하셨어요.
eommaga bang jom chiurago hasyeosseoyo
Mom told me to clean my room. (command → -(으)라고, honorific 하시다)
걔가 나한테 몇 살이냬요.
gyaega nahante myeot sarinyaeyo
He's asking me how old I am. (question → -냬요)
The copula quotes with -(이)라고, not -이다고
A noun-predicate statement does not use -다고. The copula 이다 shifts to -(이)라고 in quotation: 학생이라고 해요 → 학생이래요; the negative 아니다 gives 아니라고 → 아니래요. This -라고 is also how you report what something is called (이걸 뭐라고 해요? — "what is this called?").
그 사람이 자기는 한국 사람이 아니래요.
geu sarami jagineun Hanguk sarami aniraeyo
That person says he isn't Korean. (copula negative → 아니래요)
뉴스에서 이번 주말에 태풍이 온다고 했어요.
nyuseueseo ibeon jumare taepung-i ondago haesseoyo
The news said a typhoon is coming this weekend. (하다 = report source)
Common Mistakes
1. Reporting a command with the statement ending. A command is -(으)라고, not -ㄴ다고.
❌ 의사가 술을 끊는다고 했어요.
This reports the statement 'the doctor quits drinking.' For 'the doctor told me to quit,' use -(으)라고: 끊으라고 했어요.
✅ 의사가 술을 끊으라고 했어요.
uisaga sureul kkeuneurago haesseoyo
The doctor told me to quit drinking.
2. Dropping the -ㄴ다고/-는다고 down to bare -다고 on a verb. Verbs need the -ㄴ.
❌ 걔는 매일 운동하다고 해요.
Wrong — a verb takes -ㄴ다고: 운동한다고 해요.
✅ 걔는 매일 운동한다고 해요.
gyaeneun maeil undonghandago haeyo
He says he works out every day.
3. Reporting a question with -다고 instead of -냐고. Questions re-end in -냐고.
❌ 친구가 어디 가다고 물어봤어요.
Wrong — a reported question is -냐고: 어디 가냐고 물어봤어요.
✅ 친구가 어디 가냐고 물어봤어요.
chinguga eodi ganyago mureobwasseoyo
My friend asked where I was going.
4. Quoting a noun with -이다고 instead of -(이)라고. The copula becomes -라고.
❌ 저분이 의사이다고 했어요.
Wrong — the copula quotes as -(이)라고: 의사라고 했어요.
✅ 저분이 의사라고 했어요.
jeobuni uisarago haesseoyo
They said that person is a doctor.
Key Takeaways
- Korean indirect speech has no tense backshift and no "that" — you re-end the quoted clause with the ending that matches its original sentence type.
- Statement → -ㄴ다고/는다고 (verb) · -다고 (adjective) · -(이)라고 (noun) · -았/었다고 (past); question → -(으)냐고; command → -(으)라고; suggestion → -자고.
- The contractions -대 / -냬 / -래 / -재 (+요) are what natives actually say, and -대 doubles as a hearsay marker.
- 하다 can be replaced by 말하다, 묻다, 전하다 to name the speech act.
- Don't let commands (-(으)라고) or questions (-냐고) collapse into the statement -다고, and don't quote a noun with ×-이다고 (use -(이)라고).
Now practice Korean
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- The Reported-Speech System: OverviewTOPIK 3 — A map of how Korean reports what someone said — direct quotation with 라고, and indirect quotation whose connector (-다고 / -냐고 / -(으)라고 / -자고) is chosen by the sentence TYPE of the original, with politeness neutralized and no English-style tense back-shift.
- Deixis Shifts & Spoken Contractions (-대요/-냬요/-래요/-재요)TOPIK 4 — The two things that happen when speech is reported — deictic words recompute from the reporter's viewpoint, and '…고 해요' contracts to the ubiquitous -대요/-냬요/-래요/-재요 endings that double as 'I heard that ~'.
- Reported Commands: -(으)라고 하다 (and 달라고 vs 주라고)TOPIK 4 — How Korean reports an order — -(으)라고 하다 'tell someone to' — and the uniquely Korean split between 달라고 (give to me/us) and 주라고 (give to a third party) that English collapses into one word.
- 고 / (이)라고: The Quotative Marker (Overview)TOPIK 3 — A map of the quotative marker that clips onto reported speech before verbs like 하다/말하다/생각하다 — direct quotation with (이)라고, indirect quotation with -고 fused onto a reshaped plain ending, split by four sentence types.
- Sentence-Final Endings by Speech Level (종결어미): Master GridTOPIK 3 — The full grid crossing Korean's four speech levels (합니다체 · 해요체 · 반말 · 한다체) with the four sentence types (statement · question · command · suggestion) — because the verb ending, not the word order or a helping word, carries both politeness and sentence type at once.