Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 6 - Upper-Intermediate Korean #1 (Lessons 151 to 180) ᚛ Lesson 166 - Forms and contractions of indirect speech in Korean

Forms and contractions of indirect speech in Korean

In this course: 대 / ㄴ대 / 는대 / 대요 / ㄴ대요 / 는대요 / 래 / 이래 / 래요 / 이래요 / 으래 / 으래요 / 냬 / 냬요 / 재 / 재요 / 다는 / ㄴ다는 / 는다는 / 라는 / 이라는 / 으라는 / 냐는 / 자는

In a previous chapter, we saw how to form indirect speech in Korean and thus learned the following structures:

• -(ㄴ/는)다고 하다 for statements
• -(이)라고 하다 for statements with 이다 and 아니다
• -냐고 하다 for questions
• -자고 하다 for suggestions
• -(으)라고 하다 for the imperative

Since 하다 is a verb that can take a great many structures, new forms as well as contractions have been created.

Contractions with 해(요)

When we indirectly report what another person said, all the forms we have seen can be shortened.

These shortcuts are used when the person who said something is neither oneself nor the listener.

• -(ㄴ/는)다고 해(요) becomes -(ㄴ/는)대(요)
• -(이)라고 해(요) becomes -(이)래(요)
• -냐고 해(요) becomes -냬(요)
• -자고 해(요) becomes -재(요)
• -(으)라고 해(요) becomes -(으)래(요)

철수도 영어 공부하고 싶다고 해.
철수도 영어 공부하고 싶대.
→ Cheolsu says he wants to study English too.

민지는 아직 숙제 다 못 끝냈다고 해요.
민지는 아직 숙제 다 못 끝냈대요.
Minji says she couldn’t finish all her homework yet.

한국에서는 치킨이 가장 인기 많은 음식이라고 해요.
한국에서는 치킨이 가장 인기 많은 음식이래요.
→ They say that fried chicken is the most popular food in Korea.

아빠, 엄마가 오늘 저녁에 뭐 드시고 싶냐고 물어보세요.
아빠, 엄마가 오늘 저녁에 뭐 드시고 싶냬요.
→ Dad, Mom is asking what you want to eat for dinner tonight.

Note that the forms -(ㄴ/는)대(요), -(이)래(요), -냬(요), -재(요), -(으)래(요) are not only used at the end of a sentence and can be combined with other grammatical structures that use 해, such as the past tense, the cause with -아/어서, the "even if" structure -아/어도, etc.

누나가 오늘은 외식하자고 했어요.
누나가 오늘은 외식하쟀어요.
→ My older sister suggested that we eat out today.

그가 말은 하고 싶지 않다고 해도 마음속으로는 하고 싶어해.
그가 말은 하고 싶지 않대도 마음속으로는 하고 싶어해.
→ Even if he says he doesn’t want to talk about it, deep down he wants to.

민지야, 오빠가 방으로 잠깐 오라고 했어.
민지야, 오빠가 방으로 잠깐 오랬어.
→ Minji, your older brother told you to come to his room for a moment.

엄마, 민지가 같이 백화점 가자고 해서 다녀올게요.
엄마, 민지가 같이 백화점 가재서 다녀올게요.
→ Mom, since Minji suggested we go to the department store together, I’ll go (and come back).

Contractions with 하는

Super-contractions with 하는

Other contractions

Since the forms of indirect speech are rather long, they are in fact often contracted in speech whenever possible, with many structures such as the choice -든지, the opposition -지만, the cause -(으)니까, -잖아(요), the simultaneity -(으)며, etc.

Exercises

For anyone who wants to learn Korean, mastering Hangeul, the Korean writing system, is an essential step. However, truly understanding how these new characters are used, their real pronunciation, how they function within words, and above all remembering them well enough to read fluently in the long term is often a difficult task for Korean learners.

Master Hangeul in 2 Weeks is a 14-day program in which you learn, day after day, all the secrets of Korean characters so that you can master them and never forget them again. Each day, you discover Hangeul through comprehensive lessons and a wide range of reading and writing exercises. An unlimited online training mode allows you to practice as much as you want until you reach excellence.

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