-자고 하다 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

What you'll learn

• Report a suggestion with any action verb.
• Make the negative with -지 말자고 하다.
• Report the past and the present of the saying.
• Shift pronouns and keep the plain style inside the reported clause.
• Tell it apart from -(으)라고 하다, -(느)ㄴ다고 하다 and -냐고 하다.

Before you start: you should know how to find a verb stem (drop 다 from the dictionary form) and the idea of a suggestion such as 가요 ("let's go") or 가자 ("let's go," casual). If stems are new to you, read about verb stems first. For the casual suggestion itself, see -자 (let's). Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does -자고 하다 Grammar Mean?

-자고 하다 grammar means "(someone) suggests that we do this." It is built from two parts. The first is the casual suggestion ending -자 ("let's"), plus the quoting particle 고, which marks the words as a report. The second is the verb 하다, which here means "to say." Put together, 보자고 하다 means "to say 'let's watch'," or "to suggest watching."

Here are the first two examples. The pattern is the same in both, and only the verb changes.

• 친구가 같이 영화를 보자고 했어요. (chinguga gachi yeonghwareul bojago haesseoyo.) [친구가 가치 영화를 보자고 해써요] = "My friend suggested we watch a movie together."
• 언니가 쇼핑하자고 해요. (eonniga syopinghajago haeyo.) [언니가 쇼핑하자고 해요] = "My older sister suggests going shopping."

In both sentences, the speaker of the original words wanted to do something together with the listener. That is why the pattern is called a suggestion and not a request. The first sentence reports one event in the past (했어요). The second reports a suggestion that is current or repeated (해요). The next section shows how to build the pattern.

How Do You Form -자고 하다?

-자고 하다 is formed by putting the original suggestion in the casual "let's" form, adding 고, and then adding 하다. The "let's" form is simply the stem plus -자: 가자, 먹자, 보자. Whatever style the original suggestion used (가요, 갑시다, 가자), the reported form is the same.

The table shows one rule applied to seven types. This is the simplest of the four reported endings, because it never changes with the last sound of the stem. The next three parts look at the groups one at a time.

Verbs Ending in a Vowel

A verb stem that ends in a vowel takes -자고 directly: 가다 becomes 가자고, 보다 becomes 보자고, and 만나다 becomes 만나자고. Examples:

• 친구가 내일 만나자고 했어요. (chinguga naeil mannajago haesseoyo.) [친구가 내일 만나자고 해써요] = "My friend suggested we meet tomorrow."
• 친구가 저랑 같이 가자고 했어요. (chinguga jeorang gachi gajago haesseoyo.) [친구가 저랑 가치 가자고 해써요] = "My friend suggested that we go together."

Notice 저랑. The original words might have been 나랑 같이 가자 ("Let's go with me"). When you report them, 나 ("I," from the friend) becomes 저 ("me," from you). Vowel stems are the simplest case. A stem with a final consonant changes the sound, though not the spelling.

Verbs Ending in a Consonant

A verb stem that ends in a consonant also takes -자고 directly. The spelling stays the same, but the final consonant makes the ㅈ of 자 sound tense: 먹자고 is spoken [먹짜고], 듣자고 is spoken [듣짜고], and 돕자고 is spoken [돕짜고]. This follows the standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원 (National Institute of Korean Language) for tensing after a final consonant.

• 친구가 점심을 같이 먹자고 했어요. (chinguga jeomsimeul gachi meokjago haesseoyo.) [친구가 점시믈 가치 먹짜고 해써요] = "My friend suggested we eat lunch together."
• 친구가 같이 음악을 듣자고 했어요. (chinguga gachi eumageul deutjago haesseoyo.) [친구가 가치 으마글 듣짜고 해써요] = "My friend suggested we listen to music together."

Two more groups need a short note, because learners expect trouble with them.

Do ㄹ-Stems, Irregular Stems and Other Types Change?

No. This is the good news of the pattern. Most endings make ㄹ-stems drop their ㄹ and irregular stems change shape. -자고 begins with ㅈ, and neither ㄹ-dropping nor the irregular changes are triggered by ㅈ, so none of that happens here.

• ㄹ-stems keep the ㄹ: 놀다 gives 놀자고, 만들다 gives 만들자고, and 살다 gives 살자고. Compare the statement ending -(느)ㄴ다고, where the ㄹ drops (논다고).

• ㄷ-irregular and ㅂ-irregular verbs keep their dictionary stem: 듣자고, 돕자고.

• 하다 verbs behave like any vowel stem: 쇼핑하자고, 운동하자고.

• Adjectives and 이다 do not take -자고. A suggestion needs an action that two people can do together, so there is no 예쁘자고, 크자고 or 학생이자고.

• 민수가 같이 놀자고 했어요. (minsuga gachi noljago haesseoyo.) [민수가 가치 놀자고 해써요] = "Minsu suggested we hang out together."

• 동생이 같이 돕자고 했어요. (dongsaengi gachi dopjago haesseoyo.) [동생이 가치 돕짜고 해써요] = "My younger sibling suggested we help together."

With the formation clear, one sentence can be built step by step.

Worked Example: Building a Sentence with -자고 하다

-자고 하다 grammar works by moving someone's suggestion into your sentence. Follow the steps with the idea "My friend suggested that we go together." Suppose your friend said to you: "나랑 같이 가자" (Let's go together).

1. Find the original suggestion. The friend said 나랑 같이 가자. The verb is 가다.
2. Put the verb in the "let's" form. Drop 다 and add -자: 가 + 자 = 가자. Any vowel or consonant stem works the same way.
3. Shift the pronouns. Your friend's "me" (나) becomes your "me" (저). The word 우리 ("we") is often dropped.
4. Add 고 and 하다. 가자 + 고 + 했어요 = 가자고 했어요.
5. Rebuild the sentence. Put the speaker first: 친구가 저랑 같이 가자고 했어요. (chinguga jeorang gachi gajago haesseoyo.) [친구가 저랑 가치 가자고 해써요] = "My friend suggested that we go together."

You will know it worked when the verb ends in -자고 and 했어요 comes last. The most common slip at this step is to write 가요고 했어요 or 가라고 했어요. The reported clause never takes 요, and -(으)라고 reports a command, not a suggestion. The sentence is now a report, but the pattern has limits on tense and sentence type.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -자고 하다?

-자고 하다 works in the present and the past of the saying. The suggestion itself has no tense, because "let's" always looks forward. The time of the saying goes on 하다. The table shows the forms for 가다.

Do not put -았/었- before -자고. 갔자고 is wrong, because a suggestion about the past makes no sense. For a negative suggestion, use 말다: 가지 말자고 했어요 (gaji maljago haesseoyo) [가지 말자고 해써요]. The forms 안 가자고 and 가지 않자고 are wrong.

• 친구가 가지 말자고 했어요. (chinguga gaji maljago haesseoyo.) [친구가 가지 말자고 해써요] = "My friend suggested we not go."
• 사장님이 같이 식사하자고 하셨어요. (sajangnimi gachi siksahajago hasyeosseoyo.) [사장니미 가치 식싸하자고 하셔써요] = "The boss suggested we have a meal together."

The second sentence is honorific. The speaker is respected, so 하다 becomes 하시다: 하셨어요. The verb inside the report stays plain, because the boss is not the subject of the eating alone. A related form is -자고 해서, which gives the suggestion as a reason: 친구가 가자고 해서 갔어요 (chinguga gajago haeseo gasseoyo) [친구가 가자고 해서 가써요] means "I went because my friend suggested it."

The pattern is not used for statements, questions or commands. Those are reported with other endings, as the comparison shows. The most useful contrast for a learner is next to the pattern it is closest to.

How Is -자고 하다 Different from -(으)라고 하다?

-자고 하다 reports a suggestion that includes the speaker, while -(으)라고 하다 reports a command to the listener. Both end in 고 하다, and one syllable changes the meaning: 자 for "let's" and 라 for "do it."

In the first sentence, Mom goes too. In the second, only you go. The full rules are on the page for -(으)라고 하다.

Two other neighbours are worth knowing.

• -(느)ㄴ다고 하다 reports a statement. 엄마가 간다고 했어요 means "Mom said she is going." See -(느)ㄴ다고 하다.
• -냐고 하다 reports a question. 엄마가 가냐고 했어요 means "Mom asked whether I am going." See -냐고 하다.

Question forms such as 같이 갈까요? ("Shall we go together?") are usually reported as a suggestion: 같이 가자고 했어요.

These contrasts lead to the smaller variations of the pattern itself.

Variations and Edge Cases of -자고 하다

-자고 하다 has three common variations: the short form -재요, other speech verbs and the reason form -자고 해서. Each one appears in real conversation.

• The short form. In everyday speech, -자고 해요 is shortened to -재요. 영화 보자고 해요 becomes 영화 보재요 (yeonghwa bojaeyo) [영화 보재요], "(He) suggests we watch a movie." This short form is the sound of passing on an invitation.
• Other speech verbs. Besides 하다, you can use 말하다 ("to say"), 제안하다 ("to propose") and 그러다 ("to say so"): 같이 가자고 제안했어요 is a little more formal.
• The reason form. -자고 해서 means "because (someone) suggested it": 가자고 해서 갔어요. This is a very common way to explain why you did something.

Also keep in mind two points about use. First, the quoted clause is always plain, whatever style the original speaker used. 가요, 갑시다 and 가자 are all reported as 가자고. Second, politeness is shown only on the last verb: 했어요, 했습니다 or 했어. This lesson covers the usual reporting use. The mistakes below show where the boundary causes real errors.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -자고 하다?

Learners most often get the sentence type, the negative or the stem wrong. Four mistakes appear again and again.

1. Using -(으)라고 for a suggestion. 가라고 했어요 means "(He) told me to go." For "(He) suggested we go," write 가자고 했어요.
2. Using it with an adjective or 이다. 예쁘자고 and 학생이자고 are impossible, because a suggestion needs an action. To report "She said it is pretty," use -(느)ㄴ다고 하다: 예쁘다고 했어요.
3. Making the negative with 안. 안 가자고 and 가지 않자고 are wrong. Use 가지 말자고 했어요.
4. Adding -았/었- or 요. 갔자고 and 가요자고 are wrong. The suggestion has no tense and no polite ending inside the clause.

A quick check for any reported suggestion: Is the verb an action verb? Is it in the stem + 자고 form? Does 하다 carry the tense and politeness of the saying? If all three answers are yes, the sentence is sound.

The practice set below tests these four points directly.

Practice and Answers

Try the four items before you read the answer key. Cover the answers with your hand.

1. Choose the form. Complete: 친구가 같이 점심을 먹___ 했어요. (자고 / 라고 / 는다고)
2. Fix the error. A learner says 친구가 안 가자고 했어요 to mean "My friend suggested we not go." Correct it.
3. Translate. "My friend suggested we go hiking together on the weekend." Use 등산하다 and 주말.
4. Write your own. Write one invitation that a friend made to you, in indirect speech with -자고 했어요. Then shorten it with -재요.

Answer key

1. 자고. The verb takes -자고: 먹자고 했어요.
2. 친구가 가지 말자고 했어요. The negative suggestion uses 말다.
3. 친구가 주말에 같이 등산하자고 했어요. (chinguga jumare gachi deungsanhajago haesseoyo.) [친구가 주마레 가치 등산하자고 해써요] = "My friend suggested we go hiking together on the weekend."
4. Answers vary. Check that the verb is an action verb, 자고 follows the stem, and the short version ends in -재요. An example: 같이 점심을 먹자고 했어요 → 같이 점심을 먹재요.

If you can complete items 1 to 3 without the key, you can use the pattern in conversation. Next, the lesson hands off to related patterns.

What Should You Learn Next?

You now know how to report a suggestion. Continue with -(으)라고 하다 for commands, and review statements with -(느)ㄴ다고 하다 and questions with -냐고 하다. For the original, unreported suggestion, read -자 (let's). For the styles of speech that the reported clause flattens, read Korean speech levels. All the related lessons are collected under Reported Speech. The pattern also sits at level B1 on the Intermediate Grammar list.

This page covers the meaning, the formation and the common mistakes of -자고 하다. It does not cover direct quotation with quotation marks, nor every contracted form such as -재요 in full. Level placement here is an editorial estimate from textbook syllabi. For official exam information, see topik.go.kr.

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