-다고 하다 - Say that | Korean Grammar Documentation

-다고 하다 is used to report what someone said or to express indirect speech. It means "say that" or "said that" in English.

Structure

Statement + -다고 하다

Breakdown:

-다고: Quotation marker for statements
하다: To say/do

Literal meaning: "Say that [statement]"

Formation Rules

With Verbs (Present): -ㄴ다고/는다고 하다

Action verbs + -ㄴ다고 하다:

가다 → 간다고 해요 (say [someone] goes)
먹다 → 먹는다고 해요 (say [someone] eats)
오다 → 온다고 해요 (say [someone] comes)
읽다 → 읽는다고 해요 (say [someone] reads)

Descriptive verbs + -ㄴ다고 하다:

살다 → 산다고 해요 (say [someone] lives)
걷다 → 걷는다고 해요 (say [someone] walks)

With Adjectives (Present): -다고 하다

All adjectives + -다고 하다:

좋다 → 좋다고 해요 (say [it's] good)
나쁘다 → 나쁘다고 해요 (say [it's] bad)
예쁘다 → 예쁘다고 해요 (say [it's] pretty)
크다 → 크다고 해요 (say [it's] big)
작다 → 작다고 해요 (say [it's] small)

With 이다/아니다 (Present): -(이)라고 하다

Noun + 이다:

학생이다 → 학생이라고 해요 (say [someone] is a student)
선생님이다 → 선생님이라고 해요 (say [someone] is a teacher)
의사다 → 의사라고 해요 (say [someone] is a doctor)

Noun + 아니다:

학생이 아니다 → 학생이 아니라고 해요 (say [someone] is not a student)

Past Tense: -았/었/했다고 하다

All word types:

갔다 → 갔다고 해요 (say [someone] went)
먹었다 → 먹었다고 해요 (say [someone] ate)
좋았다 → 좋았다고 해요 (say [it] was good)
했다 → 했다고 해요 (say [someone] did)
학생이었다 → 학생이었다고 해요 (say [someone] was a student)

Future Tense: -(으)ㄹ 거라고 하다

All word types:

갈 거다 → 갈 거라고 해요 (say [someone] will go)
먹을 거다 → 먹을 거라고 해요 (say [someone] will eat)
좋을 거다 → 좋을 거라고 해요 (say [it] will be good)
할 거다 → 할 거라고 해요 (say [someone] will do)

Politeness Levels

Formal (합니다체)

간다고 합니다 (say [someone] goes)
좋다고 합니다 (say [it's] good)
학생이라고 합니다 (say [someone] is a student)

Polite (해요체)

간다고 해요 (say [someone] goes)
좋다고 해요 (say [it's] good)
학생이라고 해요 (say [someone] is a student)

Casual (반말)

간다고 해 (say [someone] goes)
좋다고 해 (say [it's] good)
학생이라고 해 (say [someone] is a student)

Core Meaning: Reporting Speech

Direct Quote → Indirect Speech

Direct quote:

그가 "나는 학생입니다"라고 했어요
(He said "I am a student")

Indirect speech:

그가 학생이라고 했어요
(He said he was a student)

Reporting What Someone Said

Simple statements:

친구가 오늘 바쁘다고 해요 (My friend says they're busy today)
선생님이 내일 시험이라고 했어요 (The teacher said tomorrow is the exam)
엄마가 집에 있다고 해요 (Mom says she's at home)

Common Usage Patterns

Reporting Present Statements

What someone currently says:

그가 배고프다고 해요 (He says he's hungry)
친구가 피곤하다고 해요 (My friend says they're tired)
동생이 학교에 간다고 해요 (My younger sibling says they're going to school)

Reporting Past Statements

What someone said before:

어제 비가 온다고 했어요 (Yesterday [they] said it would rain)
그가 좋다고 했어요 (He said it was good)
친구가 올 거라고 했어요 (My friend said they would come)

Third-Person Reports

Relaying information:

뉴스에서 내일 눈이 온다고 해요 (The news says it will snow tomorrow)
사람들이 여기가 맛있다고 해요 (People say this place is delicious)
의사가 건강하다고 했어요 (The doctor said [I'm] healthy)

Special Usage: Expressing Opinions (-다고 생각하다)

Stating Thoughts

More natural than -고 생각하다:

좋다고 생각해요 (I think it's good)
어렵다고 생각해요 (I think it's difficult)
가능하다고 생각해요 (I think it's possible)
중요하다고 생각해요 (I think it's important)

Compare with -고 생각하다:

좋고 생각해요 (I think it's good - grammatical but less natural)
좋다고 생각해요 (I think it's good - more natural)

Tense Conjugations

Present Reporting

Polite: -ㄴ다고/는다고/다고 해요

간다고 해요 (say [someone] goes)
좋다고 해요 (say [it's] good)
학생이라고 해요 (say [someone] is a student)

Past Reporting

Polite: -ㄴ다고/는다고/다고 했어요

간다고 했어요 (said [someone] goes)
좋다고 했어요 (said [it] was good)
학생이라고 했어요 (said [someone] was a student)

Future Reporting

Polite: -ㄴ다고/는다고/다고 할 거예요

간다고 할 거예요 (will say [someone] goes)
좋다고 할 거예요 (will say [it's] good)

Common Expressions

Everyday Reports

날씨가 좋다고 해요 (They say the weather is good)
음식이 맛있다고 해요 (They say the food is delicious)
영화가 재미있다고 해요 (They say the movie is interesting)
가격이 비싸다고 해요 (They say the price is expensive)

Relaying Instructions

선생님이 숙제를 하라고 했어요 (The teacher told me to do homework)
부모님이 집에 오라고 했어요 (My parents told me to come home)
친구가 기다리라고 했어요 (My friend told me to wait)

Rumors and Hearsay

그 식당이 맛있다고 해요 (They say that restaurant is delicious)
그 사람이 유명하다고 해요 (They say that person is famous)
내일 비가 온다고 해요 (They say it will rain tomorrow)

Self-Introduction

What people call you:

저를 민수라고 해요 (They call me Minsu / My name is Minsu)
이것을 김치라고 해요 (This is called kimchi / They call this kimchi)
여기를 서울이라고 해요 (This place is called Seoul)

Negative Forms

Negative Statements

Report negative content:

안 간다고 해요 (say [someone] doesn't go)
좋지 않다고 해요 (say [it's] not good)
학생이 아니라고 해요 (say [someone] is not a student)
안 했다고 해요 (say [someone] didn't do it)

Didn't Say

하지 않다:

그렇게 말하지 않았어요 (Didn't say that)
아무 말도 안 했어요 (Didn't say anything)

Question Forms

Reporting Questions

Different pattern - see -냐고 하다 section:

What they said: -다고 했어요
What they asked: -냐고 했어요

Asking About Reports

Did they say...?:

좋다고 했어요? (Did they say it was good?)
온다고 했어요? (Did they say they're coming?)
비싸다고 했어요? (Did they say it was expensive?)

Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Relaying Information

A: 친구가 뭐라고 했어요?
(What did your friend say?)

B: 오늘 바쁘다고 했어요.
(They said they're busy today.)

Dialogue 2: Third-Party Report

A: 그 식당 어때요?
(How is that restaurant?)

B: 사람들이 정말 맛있다고 해요.
(People say it's really delicious.)

Dialogue 3: Past Statement

A: 선생님이 뭐라고 하셨어요?
(What did the teacher say?)

B: 내일 시험이라고 하셨어요.
(They said tomorrow is the exam.)

Dialogue 4: Opinion

A: 이 영화 어떻게 생각해요?
(What do you think about this movie?)

B: 재미있다고 생각해요.
(I think it's interesting.)

Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect: 가요다고 해요

Using polite form before -다고

✅ Correct: 간다고 해요

Use statement form

❌ Incorrect: 학생다고 해요

Missing 이 with nouns

✅ Correct: 학생이라고 해요

Use -이라고 with nouns

❌ Incorrect: 좋는다고 해요

Wrong form for adjectives

✅ Correct: 좋다고 해요

Adjectives use -다고

Usage Notes

When to Use

Use when:

Reporting what someone said
Relaying information from others
Expressing hearsay or rumors
Stating your own opinions (with 생각하다)
Explaining what something is called

Formality

Conjugate 하다 according to context
Common in all levels of speech
Essential for natural conversation

Comparison with Similar Expressions

-다고 하다 vs -(이)라고 하다

-다고 하다 (verbs/adjectives):

간다고 해요 (say [someone] goes)
좋다고 해요 (say [it's] good)

-(이)라고 하다 (nouns):

학생이라고 해요 (say [someone] is a student)
의사라고 해요 (say [someone] is a doctor)

-다고 하다 vs Direct Quote

Direct quote with 라고:

"좋아요"라고 했어요 (Said "It's good")

Indirect speech with -다고:

좋다고 했어요 (Said it was good)

-다고 생각하다 vs -고 생각하다

-다고 생각하다 (natural):

좋다고 생각해요 (I think it's good)

-고 생각하다 (less common):

좋고 생각해요 (I think it's good)

Commands: -(으)라고 하다

Covered in -(으)라고 하다 section

Questions: -냐고 하다

Covered in -냐고 하다 section

Suggestions: -자고 하다

Suggesting together:

가자고 했어요 (Said "Let's go")

Summary Table

Word Type	Present Form	Past Form	Future Form
Verb (action)	간다고 해요	갔다고 해요	갈 거라고 해요
Adjective	좋다고 해요	좋았다고 해요	좋을 거라고 해요
Noun (이다)	학생이라고 해요	학생이었다고 해요	학생일 거라고 해요
Negative (verb)	안 간다고 해요	안 갔다고 해요	안 갈 거라고 해요
Negative (adj)	좋지 않다고 해요	좋지 않았다고 해요	좋지 않을 거라고 해요

Key Takeaways

✅ Reports statements: What someone said or says
✅ Different forms: Verbs use -ㄴ다고/는다고, adjectives use -다고, nouns use -(이)라고
✅ Indirect speech: Converts direct quotes to reported speech
✅ With 생각하다: More natural way to say "I think that..."
✅ Very common: Essential for everyday conversation
✅ Changes pronouns: First person becomes third person in reports

-다고 하다 is one of the most important patterns in Korean for reporting what others have said and for expressing your own thoughts naturally. Master this pattern to sound more fluent and natural in Korean conversation.