-대요/-래요 in Korean: “they say, I heard”
-대요/-래요
-daeyo/-raeyo
they say, I heard
Intermediate · Sentence endings
-대요 (-daeyo) and -래요 (-raeyo) mean "they say..." or "I heard...", and they pass on what someone else said. They are short spoken forms of -다고 해요 and -(이)라고 해요. -래요 can also pass on a command, like "she told me to...".
How to form it
| When | Add | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action verb | + ㄴ대요 (vowel, ㄹ drops) / 는대요 (consonant) | 가다 → 간대요, 먹다 → 먹는대요 |
| Adjective, 있다/없다 | + 대요 | 춥다 → 춥대요, 재미있다 → 재미있대요 |
| Past tense | 았/었 + 대요 | 오다 → 왔대요 |
| Noun | + (이)래요 | 의사 → 의사래요, 학생 → 학생이래요 |
| Command (told to) | + (으)래요 | 오다 → 오래요, 먹다 → 먹으래요 |
How to use it
Use -대요 and -래요 to pass on information you heard from someone else, the news, or a forecast. 내일 비 온대요 means "They say it'll rain tomorrow."
-래요 has two jobs: after a noun it means "they say it's (noun)", and after a verb stem it means "they told (me/us) to". 오래요 means "She told us to come."
The casual forms drop 요: 간대, 의사래. As a question, 간대요? means "Did they say they're going?"
Similar short forms exist for other reported speech: -재요 for suggestions ("they said let's") and -냬요 for questions ("they asked if").
Examples
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Sharing the weather forecast
Passing on news about a friend
Gossiping about a new neighbor
Passing on a teacher's message
Don’t mix it up with
-데요: -데요 (with ㅔ) means "I noticed" from your own experience, like -더라고요. -대요 (with ㅐ) means someone else said it.
-다고 해요: This is the full form of -대요. It sounds a bit more formal or careful; -대요 is what people usually say.
Common mistakes
Mixing up 대요 and 데요. 대요 means "they say"; 데요 means "I noticed myself".
Forgetting 는 with action verbs: say 먹는대요, not 먹대요.
Questions learners ask
What is the difference between 대요 and 데요?
대요 reports what someone else said ("they say"). 데요 reports what you noticed yourself ("I saw that").
What does 래요 mean?
After a noun, 래요 means "they say it's..." (의사래요, "I heard he's a doctor"). After a verb, it means "they told me to..." (오래요, "they told me to come").
Is -대요 polite?
Yes, with 요 it is polite. The casual form is -대 or -래.