-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

What you'll learn

• Report a statement with verbs, adjectives and nouns.
• Choose between -ㄴ다고, -는다고, -다고 and -(이)라고.
• Report the past and the future.
• Shift pronouns and keep the plain style inside the reported clause.
• Tell it apart from -냐고 하다, -자고 하다 and -(으)라고 하다.

Before you start: you should know how to find a verb stem (drop 다 from the dictionary form) and the plain style (the dictionary-like ending -ㄴ다/-는다, as in 간다 and 먹는다). If stems are new to you, read about verb stems first. For the styles of speech, see Korean speech levels. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does -(느)ㄴ다고 하다 Grammar Mean?

-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 grammar means "(someone) says that..." It is built from two parts. The first is the plain-style statement ending, such as 온다 ("comes"), 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, 온다고 하다 means "to say that (someone) comes."

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

• 민수가 내일 온다고 했어요. (minsuga naeil ondago haesseoyo.) [민수가 내일 온다고 해써요] = "Minsu said he is coming tomorrow."
• 선생님이 한국어가 재미있다고 하셨어요. (seonsaengnimi hangugeoga jaemiitdago hasyeosseoyo.) [선생니미 한구거가 재미읻따고 하셔써요] = "The teacher said Korean is fun."

The first sentence reports an action, and the second reports an opinion about a state. In both, the report sits in front of 하다 as one clause: [who] + [what was said] + 고 + 했어요. This is different from a direct quote, where you copy the words exactly and write them inside quotation marks. A direct quote is 민수가 "내일 와요"라고 했어요. In indirect speech, the speaker's own words change to fit your sentence. The next section shows how to build the pattern.

How Do You Form -(느)ㄴ다고 하다?

-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 is formed by putting the original statement in the plain style, adding 고, and then adding 하다. The plain style is the one you see in dictionaries and diaries: 온다, 먹는다, 춥다, 학생이다. The part (느) in the title shows that verbs after a consonant add 느, while verbs after a vowel do not.

The table shows one rule applied to seven types. 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 -ㄴ다고: 가다 becomes 간다고, 오다 becomes 온다고, and 좋아하다 becomes 좋아한다고. The ㄴ joins the stem as a final consonant of the last syllable: 가 + ㄴ = 간.

• 민수가 저를 좋아한다고 했어요. (minsuga jeoreul joahandago haesseoyo.) [민수가 저를 조아한다고 해써요] = "Minsu said he likes me."
• 선생님이 내일 오신다고 하셨어요. (seonsaengnimi naeil osindago hasyeosseoyo.) [선생니미 내일 오신다고 하셔써요] = "The teacher said he is coming tomorrow."

The second sentence is honorific. Put -(으)시- on the stem of the person being respected (오시다) and then -ㄴ다고: 오신다고. Then put -(으)시- on 하다 too, because the speaker is also respected: 하셨어요. Vowel stems are the simplest case. A stem with a final consonant needs a different linking sound.

Verbs Ending in a Consonant

A verb stem that ends in a consonant takes -는다고: 먹다 becomes 먹는다고, 읽다 becomes 읽는다고, and 입다 becomes 입는다고. The 는 sound makes the final consonant change: 먹는다고 is spoken [멍는다고], and 읽는다고 is spoken [잉는다고]. This follows the standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원 (National Institute of Korean Language) for nasal assimilation, where ㄱ becomes ㅇ before ㄴ.

• 동생이 매일 책을 읽는다고 해요. (dongsaengi maeil chaegeul ingneundago haeyo.) [동생이 매일 채글 잉는다고 해요] = "My younger sibling says he reads books every day."
• 엄마가 오늘 늦는다고 했어요. (eommaga oneul neunneundago haesseoyo.) [엄마가 오늘 는는다고 해써요] = "Mom said she will be late today."

The second sentence uses 늦다 ("to be late"), which counts as a verb here. Its final ㅈ is pronounced [ㄷ] and then becomes [ㄴ] before ㄴ, so 늦는다고 is spoken [는는다고]. Say it slowly: neun-neun-da-go. Two more groups need a short note, because learners expect trouble with them.

Do ㄹ-Stems, Irregular Stems, Adjectives and Nouns Change?

Yes, in a few places. The ending begins with ㄴ for verbs, and ㄹ does not stay before ㄴ.

• ㄹ-stems drop the ㄹ before -ㄴ다고: 살다 gives 산다고, 만들다 gives 만든다고, and 알다 gives 안다고.

• Adjectives take -다고 with no change in the stem: 춥다 gives 춥다고, and 비싸다 gives 비싸다고. ㅂ-irregular adjectives do not change here, because -다고 begins with a consonant.

• 있다 and 없다 take -다고, not -는다고: 있다고, 없다고, 재미있다고.

• Nouns use (이)라고: 학생이라고 (after a consonant) and 의사라고 (after a vowel). The negative is 아니라고: 학생이 아니라고 했어요.

• 민수가 서울에 산다고 했어요. (minsuga seoure sandago haesseoyo.) [민수가 서우레 산다고 해써요] = "Minsu said he lives in Seoul."

• 날씨가 춥다고 했어요. (nalssiga chupdago haesseoyo.) [날씨가 춥따고 해써요] = "He said the weather is cold."

• 민수는 시간이 없다고 했어요. (minsuneun sigani eopdago haesseoyo.) [민수는 시가니 업따고 해써요] = "Minsu said he has no time."

For nouns, the copula 이다 becomes 라고 after a vowel and 이라고 after a consonant. The 이 comes from 이다.

• 저분이 우리 선생님이라고 했어요. (jeobuni uri seonsaengnimirago haesseoyo.) [저부니 우리 선생니미라고 해써요] = "She said that person is our teacher."
• 그 사람이 의사라고 했어요. (geu sarami uisarago haesseoyo.) [그 사라미 의사라고 해써요] = "He said that person is a doctor."

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

Worked Example: Building a Sentence with -(느)ㄴ다고 하다

-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 grammar works by moving someone's words into your sentence. Follow the steps with the idea "Minsu said he likes me." Suppose Minsu said to you: "나는 너를 좋아해" (I like you).

1. Find the original statement. Minsu said 나는 너를 좋아해. The verb is 좋아하다.
2. Put the verb in the plain style. Drop 다 and add -ㄴ다: 좋아하 + ㄴ다 = 좋아한다. The stem ends in a vowel, so use -ㄴ다.
3. Shift the pronouns. Minsu's "I" becomes Minsu, so it is dropped or replaced by 민수 or 자기. Minsu's "you" becomes your "me": 저를.
4. Add 고 and 하다. 좋아한다 + 고 + 했어요 = 좋아한다고 했어요.
5. Rebuild the sentence. Put the speaker first: 민수가 저를 좋아한다고 했어요. (minsuga jeoreul joahandago haesseoyo.) [민수가 저를 조아한다고 해써요] = "Minsu said he likes me."

You will know it worked when the reported verb is in the plain style, followed by 고 and 하다. The most common slip at this step is to keep the polite ending, as in 좋아해요고 했어요. The reported clause never takes 요. The sentence is now a report, but the pattern has limits on tense and sentence type.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -(느)ㄴ다고 하다?

-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 reports statements in the present, the past and the future. The tense of the original statement goes on the reported verb. The time of the saying goes on 하다. The table shows the forms for 가다.

Now look at the time of the saying. 했어요 means "said" (a past event), and 해요 means "says" (now or often). Korean does not push the tense back the way English does ("He said he was coming"). If Minsu said "I am coming," the report is 온다고 했어요, in the present tense.

• 친구가 어제 영화를 봤다고 했어요. (chinguga eoje yeonghwareul bwatdago haesseoyo.) [친구가 어제 영화를 봗따고 해써요] = "My friend said he watched a movie yesterday."
• 언니가 내년에 결혼할 거라고 했어요. (eonniga naenyeone gyeolhonhal georago haesseoyo.) [언니가 내녀네 결혼할꺼라고 해써요] = "My older sister said she will get married next year."
• 민수는 안 간다고 했어요. (minsuneun an gandago haesseoyo.) [민수는 안 간다고 해써요] = "Minsu said he is not going."
• 그 사람은 학생이 아니라고 했어요. (geu sarameun haksaengi anirago haesseoyo.) [그 사라믄 학쌩이 아니라고 해써요] = "He said that person is not a student."

Remember that 결혼할 거라고 is a contraction of 결혼할 것이라고. The pattern is not a command or a suggestion. Those are reported with other endings, which the comparison below shows. The most useful contrast for a learner is next to the patterns it is closest to.

How Is -(느)ㄴ다고 하다 Different from -냐고 하다?

-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 reports a statement, while -냐고 하다 reports a question. Korean has four reported-speech endings, one for each type of sentence. All four end in 고 하다, and only the part before 고 changes.

Read the table down the last column. One small syllable changes the sentence type: 다 (statement), 냐 (question), 자 (suggestion), 라 (command). The full rules are on the pages for -냐고 하다, -자고 하다 and -(으)라고 하다.

Another neighbour is -(으)ㄴ/는지, which places a question inside a sentence with verbs like 알다 and 모르다. 민수가 오는지 몰라요 means "I don't know whether Minsu is coming." It does not report anyone's words. See -(으)ㄴ/는지.

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

Variations and Edge Cases of -(느)ㄴ다고 하다

-(느)ㄴ다고 하다 has three common variations: the short form -대요, other speech verbs and the naming use. Each one appears in real conversation.

• The short form. In everyday speech (see -대요 and the other contractions), -다고 해요 is shortened to -대요. 민수가 내일 온다고 해요 becomes 민수가 내일 온대요 (minsuga naeil ondaeyo) [민수가 내일 온대요], "I hear Minsu is coming tomorrow." Nouns shorten to -(이)래요: 학생이래요. This short form is the sound of hearsay.
• Other speech verbs. 하다 can be replaced by 말하다 ("to say"), 그러다 ("to say so"), 이야기하다 ("to tell") and 생각하다 ("to think"): 민수가 온다고 말했어요, 민수가 온다고 그랬어요.
• The naming use. With 하다 in the modifier form 하는, the pattern names things: 김치라고 하는 음식 ("a food called kimchi").

Also keep in mind two points about use. First, the quoted clause always uses the plain style (-다), whatever style the original speaker used. If the speaker said 비가 와요 or 비가 옵니다, the report is the same: 비가 온다고 했어요. Second, politeness is shown only on the final verb 하다: 했어요, 했습니다 or 했어. This lesson covers the full form of the pattern. The mistakes below show where the boundary causes real errors.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -(느)ㄴ다고 하다?

Learners most often get the ending, the pronouns or the tense wrong. Four mistakes appear again and again.

1. Keeping the polite ending. 비가 와요고 했어요 and 비가 옵니다고 했어요 are wrong. The quoted clause is always plain: 비가 온다고 했어요.
2. Using -는다고 after a vowel stem. 가는다고 and 오는다고 are wrong. After a vowel, use -ㄴ다고: 간다고, 온다고. The 는다고 form is only for consonant stems.
3. Adding 는 to 있다 and 없다. 있다 takes -다고: 있다고, 없다고, 재미있다고. 있는다고 is wrong.
4. Leaving the pronouns unchanged. If Minsu said 저는 가요, you do not report 저는 간다고 했어요. Say 민수가 간다고 했어요 or 민수가 자기는 간다고 했어요.

A quick check for any report: Is the quoted verb in the plain style? Is 고 attached? 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: 동생이 매일 책을 읽___ 했어요. (는다고 / ㄴ다고 / 다고)
2. Fix the error. A learner says 민수가 학교에 가는다고 했어요. Correct it.
3. Translate. "Mom said she will be late today." Use 늦다 and 엄마.
4. Write your own. Write one thing a friend or teacher said to you, in indirect speech with -(느)ㄴ다고 했어요. Then shorten it with -대요.

Answer key

1. 는다고. 읽다 ends in a consonant, so it takes -는다고: 읽는다고.
2. 민수가 학교에 간다고 했어요. 가다 ends in a vowel, so it takes -ㄴ다고.
3. 엄마가 오늘 늦는다고 했어요. (eommaga oneul neunneundago haesseoyo.) [엄마가 오늘 는는다고 해써요] = "Mom said she will be late today."
4. Answers vary. Check that the reported verb is in the plain style, 고 follows it, and the short version ends in -대요 or -(이)래요. An example: 선생님이 내일 시험이 있다고 했어요 → 선생님이 내일 시험이 있대요.

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 statement. Continue with the three other reported-speech endings: -냐고 하다 for questions, -자고 하다 for suggestions and -(으)라고 하다 for commands. Then study the embedded question -(으)ㄴ/는지. 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 -(느)ㄴ다고 하다. It does not cover direct quotation with quotation marks, which is compared in the overview of direct and indirect quotation, nor every contracted form such as -ㄴ/는대요 in full. Level placement here is an editorial estimate from textbook syllabi. For official exam information, see topik.go.kr.

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