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

What you'll learn

• Form -지 말라고 하다 from any action verb.
• Turn a direct prohibition such as 먹지 마세요 into a reported one.
• Say what 말다 does and why it becomes 마, 마세요 and 말라고.
• Tell -지 말라고 하다 apart from -지 않는다고 하다 and -지 말자고 하다.
• Avoid the mistakes 말으라고, 않으라고 and 마라고.

Before you start: you should know the polite prohibition -지 마세요 ("please don't") and the plain verb forms used in the Reported Speech section. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does -지 말라고 하다 Grammar Mean?

-지 말라고 하다 grammar means "(someone) tells (me or you) not to do something." It reports a prohibition. The person said "Don't do it!" in some form, and you pass the order on without quoting the exact words. The reporting verb 하다 usually appears as 했어요 ("said, told").

Two examples show the idea. The first reports a parent's order, and the second reports a doctor's advice.

Both sentences contain -지 말라고. In the first, 자지 ("sleep") is followed by 말라고, and 늦게 means "late." The pattern always has the same three parts: the verb stem with -지, then 말라고, then 하다. The next section shows how to build it.

How Do You Form -지 말라고 하다?

-지 말라고 하다 is formed by adding -지 to the verb stem and then 말라고 하다. The easiest way is to start from the direct prohibition, which uses 말다 in the form 마세요, and change only the end.

In every row, the part before 마세요 stays the same and 마세요 becomes 말라고. Stem and ending are written together, with no space before -지, but 말라고 is a separate word and has a space before it. The next parts take the stem types one at a time.

Stems Ending in a Vowel or a Consonant

-지 attaches straight to the stem, so vowel stems and consonant stems behave the same. There is no 으 and no -아/어 change.

• 가다 ("go") + 지 gives 가지, then 가지 말라고.
• 마시다 ("drink") + 지 gives 마시지, then 마시지 말라고.
• 먹다 ("eat") + 지 gives 먹지, said [먹찌].
• 늦다 ("be late") + 지 gives 늦지, said [늗찌].

The sound changes follow the 국립국어원 standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법): a final ㄱ, or a final ㅈ said as [ㄷ], makes the following ㅈ tense. Revised Romanization writes meokji and neutji, because it does not mark tensing caused by a sound change.

Irregular Stems and 하다 Verbs

Irregular stems cause no trouble, because -지 starts with a consonant and irregular changes happen only before a vowel.

• ㅂ-irregular: 돕다 ("help") gives 돕지 말라고.
• ㄷ-irregular: 듣다 ("listen") gives 듣지 말라고, said [듣찌 말라고].
• ㄹ-stems: 만들다 ("make") keeps its ㄹ: 만들지 말라고.
• 하다 verbs: 걱정하다 ("worry") gives 걱정하지 말라고, said [걱쩡하지 말라고].

Nouns are not used directly. A noun works only with 하다: 걱정 + 하다 becomes 걱정하지.

Why Does 마세요 Become 말라고?

말다 is a verb that means "stop, refrain." It is used mainly in negative commands and suggestions, and it is an ㄹ-stem verb, so its ㄹ drops before ㅅ, as in 마세요. The casual 마 and the plain 마라 are also written without ㄹ.

The reported form 말라고 keeps the ㄹ, because the ending -라고 starts with ㄹ, not with ㅅ. Then the pattern is complete.

Worked Example: Building a Sentence with -지 말라고 하다

-지 말라고 하다 grammar works the same way every time, so a five-step routine is enough. Follow it to build "The doctor told me not to drink alcohol."

1. Write the direct prohibition. The doctor said: 술을 마시지 마세요. ("Please don't drink alcohol.")
2. Find the verb stem. The verb is 마시다, so the stem is 마시.
3. Check that -지 is on the stem. 마시 + 지 gives 마시지, which is already in the direct prohibition.
4. Swap 마세요 for 말라고. 마시지 마세요 becomes 마시지 말라고.
5. Add the reporter and the verb 하다. 의사가 술을 마시지 말라고 했어요. (uisaga sureul masiji mallago haesseoyo.)

You will know it worked if -지 is on the stem, 말라고 follows with a space, and a form of 하다 closes the sentence. The most common slip is writing 않으라고 instead of 말라고. The next question is which tenses and sentence types work.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -지 말라고 하다?

-지 말라고 하다 works with action verbs, and the tense belongs to the reporting verb 하다. A prohibition is about the future, so the part before 말라고 never takes a past ending.

If the person you tell is someone you respect, put -(으)시- inside the quote: 할머니께 가지 마시라고 했어요 ("I told grandmother not to go"). The honorific stem of 말다 is 마시- (말- + -(으)시-, not the verb 마시다 "drink"), and the reported form is 마시라고. In formal writing and news, stronger reporting verbs are common: 당부하다 ("urge") and 경고하다 ("warn").

The tense rule leads to the question that confuses learners most: how this pattern differs from the other negative reports.

How Is -지 말라고 하다 Different from -(으)라고 하다?

-지 말라고 하다 reports a negative command, while -(으)라고 하다 reports a positive command. They share the same ending -라고, but the first one always has 말다 after -지. Two more neighbours look similar, so the table compares four patterns.

Look at the last three. 가지 말라고 했어요 means someone ordered me not to go. 가지 않는다고 했어요 (gaji anneundago haesseoyo) means someone said that they themselves are not going. 가지 말자고 했어요 means someone suggested that we not go. The negative statement is taught with -지 않다.

The full lesson on positive commands is -(으)라고 하다. These contrasts lead to a few variations.

Variations and Edge Cases of -지 말라고 하다

-지 말라고 하다 has five common variations. Each one helps you read and say real Korean.

• The short spoken form. In speech, 말라고 해요 shrinks to 말래요: 엄마가 가지 말래요 ("Mom says not to go"). The family of short forms is in -대요/-냬요/-재요/-래요.
• Request not to. To report a polite plea, use 말아 달라고: 시끄럽게 하지 말아 달라고 했어요 ("asked me not to make noise"). That pattern is taught in -아/어 달라고 하다.
• Honorific. 마시라고 shows respect to the person told: 걱정하지 마시라고 했어요 ("I told him not to worry").
• With adverbs. Words such as 절대 ("never") and 제발 ("please") sit before the verb: 절대 가지 말라고 했어요 ("told me never to go").
• With another reporting verb. 말하다 and 부탁하다 also work: 먹지 말라고 말했어요, said [먹찌 말라고 말해써요].

Think of 말라고 as a stop sign: the direct prohibition says "stop doing it", and the report keeps that meaning. All five variations keep the same order: -지, then 말라고, then the reporting verb.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -지 말라고 하다?

Learners usually negate the command with 않다, add 으 to 말다, shorten 말라고 to 마라고, or confuse the command with a statement. Four mistakes appear again and again.

1. Using 않다 for the command. Wrong: 늦지 않으라고 했어요. Right: 늦지 말라고 했어요. Commands cannot use 않다; the negative command always uses 말다.
2. Adding 으 to 말다. Wrong: 가지 말으라고 했어요. Right: 가지 말라고 했어요. The stem 말 ends in ㄹ, so it takes -라고, not -으라고.
3. Writing 마라고. 마라고 is heard in casual speech, but the standard written form is 말라고. Write: 가지 말라고 했어요.
4. Confusing the command with a statement. 가지 말라고 했어요 is correct for "told me not to go", but it does not mean "said he is not going." For that, say 가지 않는다고 했어요.

A quick check: Is -지 on the stem? Is 말라고 the next word? Does 하다 end the sentence? If all three answers are yes, the sentence is sound.

The practice set below tests these points.

Practice and Answers

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

1. Report the order. Change 교실에서 먹지 마세요 into "The teacher told us not to eat in the classroom."
2. Choose the form. Fill in the blank with 마시다: 엄마가 밤에 커피를 ___ 말라고 했어요.
3. Fix the error. A learner says 선생님이 늦지 않으라고 했어요. Correct it.
4. Choose the meaning. Which sentence says someone is not going: 가지 말라고 했어요 or 가지 않는다고 했어요?

Answer key

1. 선생님이 교실에서 먹지 말라고 했어요. (seonsaengnimi gyosireseo meokji mallago haesseoyo.) Keep 먹지, swap 마세요 for 말라고. Said [선생니미 교시레서 먹찌 말라고 해써요].
2. 마시지. The stem 마시 takes -지, so the sentence is 엄마가 밤에 커피를 마시지 말라고 했어요.
3. 선생님이 늦지 말라고 했어요. Commands cannot use 않다; use 말다.
4. 가지 않는다고 했어요. 말라고 reports an order; -지 않는다고 reports a negative statement.

If you can complete items 1 to 3 without the key, you can report most prohibitions. The final section points to the next lessons.

What Should You Learn Next after -지 말라고 하다 Grammar?

After -지 말라고 하다 grammar, learn the polite plea and the spoken short forms. This lesson teaches the reported prohibition and does not cover every way to warn someone.

1. Learn -아/어 달라고 하다, which reports "asked me to do it for them" and also "asked me not to".
2. Learn the short forms in -대요/-냬요/-재요/-래요, where 말라고 해요 becomes 말래요.
3. Review the direct prohibition in -지 마세요.
4. Return to the Advanced Grammar list for other patterns at this level.
5. Learn -(으)라고 하다, which reports positive commands.

With these steps, the choice becomes automatic: use 말라고 for "don't", -(으)라고 for "do it", and -지 않는다고 for a statement. For exam content and levels, check the current guide on topik.go.kr; the level shown here is an editorial estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does -지 말라고 하다 mean?

-지 말라고 하다 means "(someone) tells (me or you) not to do something." It reports a prohibition. 의사가 술을 마시지 말라고 했어요 means "The doctor told me not to drink alcohol." The word 말라고 is the reported form of 말다, the verb used for negative commands.

How do I attach -지 말라고 하다 to a verb?

Add -지 directly to the verb stem, then 말라고 하다: 가지 말라고, 먹지 말라고, 걱정하지 말라고. No 으 is needed, and irregular verbs do not change, because -지 starts with a consonant: 돕지, 듣지, 만들지.

Can -지 말라고 하다 be used in the past tense?

The tense goes on 하다: 말라고 했어요 means "told me not to." The prohibition itself takes no tense, so forms such as 갔지 말라고 do not exist. For the future, say 말라고 할 거예요, said [말라고 할꺼예요].

Is -지 말라고 하다 used in speech or only in writing?

Both. In speech the short form 말래요 is common: 엄마가 가지 말래요. In news and formal writing, stronger verbs follow it: 가지 말라고 경고했다 ("warned not to go") or 당부했다 ("urged").

What is the most common mistake with -지 말라고 하다?

The most common mistake is using 않다 for the command, as in 늦지 않으라고. A negative command always uses 말다: 늦지 말라고. A second mistake is writing 말으라고. The stem 말 ends in ㄹ, so it takes -라고.

What is the difference between -지 말라고 하다 and -(으)라고 하다?

-(으)라고 하다 reports a positive command: 가라고 했어요 means "told me to go." -지 말라고 하다 reports a negative command: 가지 말라고 했어요 means "told me not to go." Both end in -라고, but the negative one always has 말다 after -지.

Save This to Pinterest