-게 하다
Make Someone Do, Cause
-게 하다 is used to express causation. It means you make or let someone perform an action, or cause a situation or state to occur.
How It Works
-게 하다 is a versatile causative pattern used to indicate that the subject makes, lets, or causes someone else to perform an action or be in a certain state.
1. With Action Verbs
It means 'to make' or 'to let' someone do something. The person being made to act is often marked with the particle -에게 or -한테.
- 엄마가 아이에게 책을 읽게 했어요. (Mom made the child read a book.)
- 선생님이 학생들을 조용히 하게 하셨어요. (The teacher made the students be quiet.)
The meaning can range from a strong command to gentle permission, depending on the context.
2. With Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives)
It means 'to make something' have a certain quality or be in a certain state.
- 음악이 제 기분을 좋게 해요. (Music makes my mood good.)
- 방을 깨끗하게 하세요. (Please make the room clean.)
3. -게 하다 vs. -시키다
While both are causative, they have different nuances:
- -게 하다 is broader. It can mean 'to make', 'to let', 'to allow', or to cause something indirectly. It's used with a wide range of verbs and adjectives.
- -시키다 is more direct and often implies a command, order, or training. It's frequently attached to Sino-Korean nouns (e.g., 공부하다 -> 공부시키다, 운동하다 -> 운동시키다).
For example, '부모님이 저를 유학 가게 하셨어요' (My parents let/had me study abroad) is more natural than '유학시켰어요', which sounds more like a forceful order.
Examples (5)
- 엄마가 아이에게 야채를 먹게 했어요.
Mom made the child eat vegetables.
Word by Word: Mom to the child vegetables eat-게 did.
The subject (엄마) causes another person (아이) to perform an action (먹다).
- 선생님은 학생들이 자유롭게 질문하게 하셨어요.
The teacher let the students ask questions freely.
Word by Word: The teacher students freely question-게 did (honorific).
In this context, -게 하다 has the meaning of 'to allow' or 'to let'.
- 그 영화는 많은 사람들을 슬프게 했어요.
That movie made many people sad.
Word by Word: That movie many people sad-게 did.
Here, it's used with an adjective (슬프다) to mean 'to cause a state of being sad'.
- 저는 머리를 짧게 했어요.
I got my hair cut short. (lit. I made my hair short.)
Word by Word: I hair short-게 did.
A common expression where you cause a state change to something. You are the one causing your hair to become short.
- 시끄러운 음악 소리가 저를 잠 못 자게 했어요.
The loud music made me unable to sleep.
Word by Word: Loud music sound me sleep not sleep-게 did.
This shows how -게 하다 can be used with negative expressions like 못 자다.
Common Mistakes
Using -시키다 when -게 하다 is more natural.
Different Meaning부장님이 저를 야근시켰어요.Better부장님이 저를 야근하게 했어요.While 야근시키다 is a valid word, 야근하게 하다 is often more natural for describing a specific instance of being made to work overtime. -시키다 can sound very forceful or like it's a part of a formal training/system. -게 하다 is more versatile for general situations.
Confusing the roles of the particles -에게 and -을/를.
Not Quite제가 친구를 책을 읽게 했어요.Better제가 친구에게 책을 읽게 했어요.When the inner verb (읽다) takes its own object (책을), the person being made to do the action (친구) should be marked with -에게 or -한테 to avoid confusion. Using -을/를 for both can make the sentence ambiguous or sound unnatural.
Learn This First
To make someone do something, you need adverbial forms and 하다.
Related Patterns
- -시키다Make Someone Do, Cause
A direct causative pattern, often used with Sino-Korean nouns (e.g., 공부시키다). While -게 하다 can mean 'make' or 'let', -시키다 usually implies a more direct command or order.
- -게 되다Become, End Up
The passive counterpart. -게 하다 means 'to cause something to happen', while -게 되다 means 'to end up in a situation' or 'for something to come to be'. It describes a change that happens without the subject's direct intention.
- -도록So That, In Order to
Can also mean 'so that' or 'in order to', and sometimes overlaps with -게 하다 in meaning 'to make someone do something'. For example, '이해하도록 설명해 주세요' (Please explain so that I can understand). However, -게 하다 is more focused on direct causation by the subject.