-시키다
Make Someone Do, Cause
-시키다 turns a noun into a verb that means 'to make someone do' that action. For example, '공부' (study) becomes '공부시키다' (to make someone study).
How It Works
-시키다 is a powerful suffix used to create causative verbs, which express the idea of making someone or something do an action. It primarily attaches to nouns of Chinese origin (Sino-Korean words) that often have a corresponding 하다 verb.
Structure: Noun + 시키다
For example:
- 교육 (education) + 시키다 → 교육시키다 (to educate someone)
- 발전 (development) + 시키다 → 발전시키다 (to make something develop)
- 훈련 (training) + 시키다 → 훈련시키다 (to train someone)
The sentence structure is typically one of the following:
1. [Causer]은/는 [Person]에게 [Noun]을/를 시키다.
2. [Causer]은/는 [Person]을/를 [Noun+시키다].
In the first structure, the noun (the action) is the direct object, and the person being made to do it is marked with 에게. In the second structure, 'Noun+시키다' acts as a single transitive verb, and the person being acted upon is the direct object marked with 을/를.
Comparison with -게 하다:
Both -시키다 and -게 하다 create causative meanings, but they are used differently.
- -시키다 attaches to a specific set of nouns to form a single, lexicalized verb (e.g., 소개시키다, 발전시키다).
- -게 하다 is a grammatical pattern that can be attached to almost any verb or adjective stem, making it more versatile.
For example, with the noun '이해' (understanding), '이해시키다' is the standard, single-word verb meaning 'to make someone understand'. The grammatical construction '이해하게 하다' achieves the same meaning. However, to say 'to make someone eat', you must use 먹게 하다, as you cannot attach -시키다 to the native Korean verb stem 먹다.
In some common cases, 시키다 by itself means 'to order (food/goods)' — 음식을 시키다, 짜장면을 시키다. This is an established, separate dictionary sense of 시키다, not a contraction of another verb.
Examples (5)
- 부모님은 아이들을 교육시키기 위해 많은 노력을 해요.
Parents put in a lot of effort to educate their children.
Word by Word: Parents children to educate for a lot of effort do.
- 감독님은 선수들을 매일 3시간씩 훈련시켰어요.
The coach trained the players for 3 hours every day.
Word by Word: The coach the players every day 3 hours each trained.
훈련 (training) + 시키다 (to make/cause) = 훈련시키다 (to train someone).
- 선생님은 학생들에게 자기소개를 시켰습니다.
The teacher had the students introduce themselves.
Word by Word: The teacher to the students self-introduction made them do.
- 배고파서 피자를 시켰어요.
I was hungry, so I ordered a pizza.
Word by Word: Being hungry because pizza I ordered.
In colloquial Korean, 시키다 by itself commonly means to order food or deliveries (음식을 시키다) — an established sense of the verb, not a contraction.
- 정부는 경제를 발전시키기 위한 새로운 정책을 발표했습니다.
The government announced a new policy to develop the economy.
Word by Word: The government the economy to develop for a new policy announced.
Common Mistakes
Using -시키다 with native Korean verbs or adjectives.
Not Quite엄마가 아이를 먹다시켰어요.Better엄마가 아이에게 밥을 먹게 했어요.-시키다 attaches to specific nouns (usually of Chinese origin), not verb stems like 먹다 (to eat). To create a causative meaning with a verb, you must use the -게 하다 pattern.
Using -시키다 with nouns that don't take this suffix.
Not Quite친구가 저를 행복시켰어요.Better친구가 저를 행복하게 만들었어요/했어요.행복 (happiness) is a noun, but it doesn't combine with -시키다 to mean 'make happy'. Instead, you should use the adjective 행복하다 with a causative pattern like -게 하다 or -게 만들다.
Learn This First
To make someone do something, you need verb conjugation knowledge.
Related Patterns
- -게 하다Make Someone Do, Cause
This is the general grammatical pattern for making someone do something. While -시키다 attaches to specific nouns to form a single verb, -게 하다 can be used with almost any verb or adjective, making it more versatile.
- 하다To Do, To Make
Many nouns that use -시키다 also have a 하다 version. Comparing them clarifies the meaning: 공부하다 (to study) is the action itself, while 공부시키다 (to make someone study) is causing the action.
- 되다Become, Be Allowed
되다 often creates a passive meaning, which can be seen as the opposite of the causative -시키다. For example, 개발시키다 means 'to cause development', while 개발되다 means 'to be developed'.
- 을/를Object Marker
This is the object particle. In a sentence with -시키다, the person or thing being made to perform the action is the object and is marked with 을/를 (or sometimes 에게).