-다고 하다
Said That, Reported That
Attach -다고 하다 to a verb or adjective stem to report a statement. It means 'said that...' or 'they say that...'.
How It Works
-다고 하다 is a fundamental pattern for reported speech, used specifically for quoting statements. It attaches to the stem of the final verb or adjective of the clause being quoted. The verb 하다 (to do, to say) is then conjugated according to the tense and politeness level of the main sentence.
Conjugation Rules:
1. Action Verbs (Present Tense)
- Verb stem ends in a vowel: +
-ㄴ다고 하다(e.g., 가다 → 간다고 하다) - Verb stem ends in a consonant: +
-는다고 하다(e.g., 먹다 → 먹는다고 하다)
2. Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives) & 있다/없다
- Attach
-다고 하다directly to the stem. - e.g., 예쁘다 → 예쁘다고 하다; 작다 → 작다고 하다; 재미있다 → 재미있다고 하다
3. Nouns (이다/아니다)
- Noun ends in a vowel: +
-라고 하다(e.g., 의사 → 의사라고 하다) - Noun ends in a consonant: +
-이라고 하다(e.g., 학생 → 학생이라고 하다) - For 아니다:
아니라고 하다
4. Past Tense (-았/었-)
- Attach
-다고 하다after the past tense marker -았/었-. - e.g., 갔다 → 갔다고 하다; 먹었다 → 먹었다고 하다; 학생이었다 → 학생이었다고 하다
5. Future Tense (-겠- / -ㄹ 거)
- Attach
-다고 하다after-겠-. (e.g., 가겠다 → 가겠다고 하다) - For the future tense form -ㄹ 거(예요/야), it becomes
-ㄹ 거라고 하다. This is a contraction of-ㄹ 것이라고 하다. (e.g., 갈 것이다 → 갈 거라고 하다)
Common Contractions:
In everyday conversation, -다고 해요 is often shortened to -대요.
- 온다고 해요 → 온대요 (They say he's coming.)
- 예쁘다고 해요 → 예쁘대요 (They say she's pretty.)
Examples (5)
- 친구가 내일 한국에 온다고 했어요.
My friend said that they are coming to Korea tomorrow.
Word by Word: Friend tomorrow to Korea comes said.
The action verb 오다 (to come) ends in a vowel, so it becomes
온다고 했어요. - 수진 씨는 이 영화가 아주 재미있다고 말했어요.
Sujin said this movie is very fun.
Word by Word: Sujin this movie very is fun said.
The adjective 재미있다 (to be fun) takes
-다고directly, becoming재미있다고 말했어요. - 제 동생은 자기가 의사라고 항상 이야기해요.
My younger sibling always says that they are a doctor.
Word by Word: My younger sibling themself a doctor always says.
The noun 의사 (doctor) ends in a vowel, so it uses
-라고, becoming의사라고 이야기해요. - 뉴스에서 어제 비가 많이 왔다고 했어요.
The news said that it rained a lot yesterday.
Word by Word: In the news yesterday rain a lot came said.
This shows the past tense. 오다 becomes 왔다, and the reported form is
왔다고 했어요. - 선생님께서 다음 주에 시험을 볼 거라고 하셨어요.
The teacher said we will have an exam next week.
Word by Word: Teacher next week an exam will see said (honorific).
This shows the future tense using
-ㄹ 거라고.시험을 볼 것이다becomes시험을 볼 거라고 하셨어요.
Common Mistakes
Using the adjective form for action verbs.
Not Quite친구가 밥을 먹다고 했어요.Better친구가 밥을 먹는다고 했어요.Action verbs in the present tense must use
-ㄴ/는다고 하다. The form-다고 하다is for adjectives. Since 먹다 is an action verb with a consonant stem, it must be먹는다고.Using
-다고 하다to report a question.Not Quite친구가 어디 가다고 물어봤어요.Better친구가 어디 가냐고 물어봤어요.-다고 하다is only for reporting statements. To report a question, you must use the question-quoting pattern -냐고 하다.Incorrectly quoting nouns.
Not Quite그는 학생다고 했어요.Better그는 학생이라고 했어요.When quoting a noun +
이다, you must use-(이)라고 하다. Since 학생 ends in a consonant, it becomes학생이라고.
Learn This First
To report statements indirectly, learners need the indirect statement form and 하다.
Related Patterns
- -냐고 하다Asked if, Asked Whether
This is the direct counterpart to
-다고 하다for reporting questions. While-다고 하다reports a statement ('said that...'),-냐고 하다reports a question ('asked if/what...'). - -라고 하다Said That, Told to
This is used to report commands ('told to...'). For example, '가라고 하다' means 'told (someone) to go'. It should be distinguished from
-(이)라고 하다(covered in the main explanation), which is used to quote nouns within a declarative statement. - -자고Let's, Suggest Doing
This is used to report suggestions ('suggested that we...' or 'said let's...'). It's another key part of the reported speech system, alongside patterns for statements, questions, and commands.
- -ㄴ/는/ㄹ 것 같다Seems Like, Looks Like
This expresses the speaker's own guess or feeling ('it seems like...'). It contrasts with
-다고 하다, which reports information received from someone else. One is for personal inference, the other is for relaying facts. - -다면서/라면서/다며I Heard That, They Say
This pattern also relates to reported information, but it's often used to confirm something you've heard, meaning 'I heard that... (is it true?)'. It carries a slightly different nuance than the simple reporting of
-다고 하다.