-(으)라고 하다 in Korean: “told (someone) to”

-(으)라고 하다 (-(eu)rago hada) means "(someone) told me to" or "said to do." It reports a command or instruction in your own words: 엄마가 일찍 자라고 했어요 means "Mom told me to go to bed early."

How to form it

How to use it

Use it to pass on orders, advice, and instructions. The final verb shows tense and politeness: 하라고 했어요 (told me to do it), 하라고 하셨어요 (a respected person told me to).

For "told me not to," use -지 말라고 하다: 의사가 술을 마시지 말라고 했어요 (the doctor told me not to drink).

When someone asked for something for themselves, Korean uses 달라고 instead of 주라고: 친구가 도와 달라고 했어요 (my friend asked me to help him). 주라고 is used when the favor is for a third person: 동생을 도와주라고 했어요 (told me to help my sibling). In speech, -(으)라고 해요 often shortens to -(으)래요.

Examples

Tap a word to see what it means and save it to your flashcards.

Don’t mix it up with

-자고 하다: Reports a "let's" suggestion that includes the speaker. -(으)라고 하다 reports a command for someone else.

(이)라고 하다: Looks similar but attaches to nouns and reports a statement: 학생이라고 했어요 (said she is a student). 읽으라고 is a command (told to read).

Common mistakes

Adding 으 after ㄹ stems. It is 만들라고 and 놀라고, not 만들으라고.

Using 주라고 when the person asked for themselves. 친구가 도와주라고 했어요 sounds like the friend wanted you to help someone else; say 도와 달라고 했어요.