(이/으)라고 ①

Quote declarative sentence

Explanation

It can be used to quote what the speaker heard from another person. Indirectly quoting a declarative sentence. Used to ask for clarification or reconfirmation of something they just heard.

Details

Usage

For direct quote:

  • "quoted statement" + 라고

For indirect quote:

Sentence type Word type Form
Declarative (Present) Noun (이)라고
Declarative (Future) Verb (으)ㄹ 거라고
Imperative Verb (으)라고

Shortened form

For indirect quote:

Sentence type Word type Full form Shortened form
Declarative (Present) Noun (이)라고 해요 (이)래요
Declarative (Future) Verb -(으)ㄹ 거라고 해요 -(으)ㄹ 거래요
Imperative Action verb -(으)라고 해요 -(으)래요

Korean Grammar in Use

A direct quotation refers to the word-for-word quoting, using quotation marks, of what someone wrote or said. In Korean, '라고 Verb' follows the quotation marks. 라고 is often followed by 이야기하다, 말하다, 생각하다 or 쓰다, but these verbs can be substituted with 하다 or 그러다.

Details

1. 하고 했어요 is not used after a quotation when the part inside the quotation marks ends in 하다. It is also common practice to avoid using 하다 as the verb directly following 하고. These conventions exist because it sounds awkward when 하다 is repeated consecutively.

민우 씨는 "운동하세요." 하고 했어요.
하영 씨는 "내일 만나요." 하고 했어요.

2. Although both 하고 and 라고 are used after a quotation in a sentence, they convey slightly different meanings. 하고 conveys a feeling of including not just the cited text but also the original intonation emotion, and feeling of the cited words. This is why 하고 is used when something must be conveyed vividly, such as in fairy tales, children's stories, and onomatopoeia. In the case of everyday conversations and speech, however, 라고 is used often.

준호 씨가 벨을 누르니까 "딩동" 하고 소리가 났어요.
Junho rang the bell, and it chimed "ding-dong".
그 남자는 "살려 주세요!" 하고 소리쳤어요.
The boy yelled out, "Help me!"
왕비는 "거울아. 거울아. 세상에서 누가 제일 예쁘니?" 하고 물어봤어요.
The queen asked, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

Note: (The 'ding-dong' sound and the accent, intonation, and feeling of the words of the boy and queen are conveyed.
Examples
가족이 모두 4명<span class='focus'>이라고</span> 하요.
They said their family has four members.
선생님이 뭐<span class='focus'>라고</span> 했어요?
What did the teacher say?
에디슨은 "실패는 성공의 어머니입니다." <span class='focus'>라고 했어요.</span>
To paraphrase Edison, "Failure is the mother of success."

8 more sentences in the app — free account.