Key Facts
- Hangul: 데려오다 (deryeooda)
- Meaning: to bring (a person)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 데려오
- Class: regular
- Objects: transitive
- Humble partner: 모시고 오다
Meaning and Register
데려오다 means to bring a person along to where the speaker is: 친구를 데려오다. The person or animal takes 을/를.
For a person you respect, the humble 모시고 오다 is used instead: 모시다 replaces 데리다. The honorific polite form is 데려오세요.
Senses recorded for this verb:
- to bring (a person) along. Used for bringing a person or pet to the speaker's place: 친구를 데려오다.
Grammar note: Takes an object with 을/를 for the person or animal.
Usage note: Common. For someone you respect, the humble 모시고 오다 replaces 데려오다.
Sound
Most forms are read as written. The main sound changes are 데려왔어요 [데려와써요] and 데려옵니다 [데려옴니다].
Example Sentences
저는 가끔 친구를 집에 데려와요.
I sometimes bring a friend home.
Bringing a friend home: 친구를 and 집에.
동생을 학교에서 데려왔어요.
I picked up my younger sibling from school.
학교에서 (from school) marks where the sibling was picked up, and 데려왔어요 is the past.
아이를 데려오면 같이 놀 수 있어요.
If you bring your child, the kids can play together.
The conditional 데려오면 turns the sentence into an invitation.
Deryeooda Conjugation Table
The stem ends in 오, so 아 merges into 와: 데려와요, 데려왔어요. Others: 데려옵니다, 데려오면, 데려오는. Negatives: 안 데려와요, 데려오지 않아요.
데려오다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 데려와요 | ||
| Polite past | 데려왔어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 데려올 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 데려오겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 데려옵니다 | ||
| Formal past | 데려왔습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 데려올 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 데려와 | ||
| Casual past | 데려왔어 | ||
| Casual future | 데려올 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 데려오고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 데려오세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 데려와서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 데려오면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 데려오는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 데려온 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 데려올 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 데려와요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 데려오지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 데려와요 | - |
| Polite past | 데려왔어요 | [데려와써요] |
| Polite future | 데려올 거예요 | [데려올꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 데려오겠어요 | [데려오게써요] |
| Formal present | 데려옵니다 | [데려옴니다] |
| Formal past | 데려왔습니다 | [데려왇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 데려올 것입니다 | [데려올꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 데려와 | - |
| Casual past | 데려왔어 | [데려와써] |
| Casual future | 데려올 거야 | [데려올꺼야] |
| Want to | 데려오고 싶어요 | [데려오고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific | 데려오세요 | - |
| Because | 데려와서 | - |
| If | 데려오면 | - |
| Present modifier | 데려오는 | - |
| Past modifier | 데려온 | - |
| Future modifier | 데려올 | - |
| Short negative | 안 데려와요 | - |
| Long negative | 데려오지 않아요 | [데려오지 아나요] |
Class: Regular
Regular: the stem is unchanged; only vowel harmony (아/어) and vowel contraction apply. Here the 오 + 아 contraction into 와 is the visible effect.
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 친구를 가져와요
Correct: ✓ 친구를 데려와요
Why: People are brought with 데려오다; 가져오다 is only for objects.
English "bring" works for people and things, so learners reuse 가져오다. Korean splits them: 가져오다 for things, 데려오다 for people and animals.
Confusable Verbs
| Verb | Difference |
|---|---|
| 가져오다 | 가져오다 is for things; 데려오다 is for people or animals. |
| 데려가다 | 데려가다 is to take a person away; 데려오다 is to bring them here. |
Respect and the Invitation
The humble partner is 모시고 오다, which swaps in 모시다 for the 데리다 root. Use it when the person you are bringing deserves respect, such as an elder.
아이를 데려오면 같이 놀 수 있어요 shows a common use: inviting someone to bring their child or a friend. The conditional 데려오면 is the natural form for an open offer.
데려가다 is the outbound twin, 가져오다 is for things, 오다 is plain coming and 만나다 is meeting. Think of 데려오다 as a combination of coming and accompanying: the person comes with you.
An Invitation to Bring a Friend
A host and a guest are arranging a visit. The host makes the home the arrival point, and the guest answers using that same viewpoint.
Host
내일 친구를 데려오세요.
Naeil chingureul deryeooseyo.
Please bring a friend tomorrow.
Guest
네, 친구를 데려올 거예요.
Ne, chingureul deryeool geoyeyo.
Yes, I will bring a friend.
Host
지난번에도 데려왔어요?
Jinanbeonedo deryeowasseoyo?
Did you bring them last time too?
Guest
아니요, 혼자 왔어요.
Aniyo, honja wasseoyo.
No, I came alone.
데려오세요 is an invitation here, rather than a strict command. 데려올 거예요 confirms the plan, and 데려왔어요 asks about the previous visit. Korean does not require a gendered pronoun for the friend; the conversation leaves that detail open.
How Does the Arrival Point Affect the Verb?
데려오다 focuses on arriving with a person. If you are hosting dinner at home, 친구를 데려오다 fits bringing a friend to your home. If you are leaving home with that friend to attend someone else's dinner, 데려가다 describes taking the friend along from where you are.
The destination can also be a meeting place that both speakers are imagining. In the dialogue, the guest agrees to “bring” a friend even though the guest has not yet arrived at the host's home. The invitation establishes that home as the point of reference. The verb is more flexible than a rule that 오다 must always end at the speaker's current physical location.
Compare the existing school example: 동생을 학교에서 데려왔어요. 학교에서 marks the starting place, so the sibling was picked up from school. A destination uses 에 instead. The final verb still focuses on bringing the sibling back toward the arrival point understood in the conversation.
Combinations You Will Hear in Invitations and Pickups
친구를 집에 데려오다 means bringing a friend home. 아이를 데려오다 is useful when a parent is invited to bring a child. 동생을 학교에서 데려오다 describes collecting a younger sibling from school and bringing them back. Each combination is literal; the nouns and place markers supply the details.
You may hear 데려오다 in a host's invitation, a family's school pickup plan or a drama scene where someone introduces a new companion. It implies that the person is brought along or escorted. It does not by itself say that the person needed physical help or that the speaker carried them.
What Stays the Same When 와 Appears?
데려와요 and 데려왔어요 use 와 because the final 오 combines with an 아 ending. Before 면, the 오 remains visible in 데려오면. Before 세요, it remains in 데려오세요. This explains why copying 와 into every form would produce the wrong pattern.
Write 데려오다 as one word. In the future 데려올 거예요, the space comes before 거예요. The respectful alternative 모시고 오다 has a space before 오다 because it is built as a linked expression. The humble forms lesson shows how 모시다 honors the person being accompanied.
Useful Words around an Invitation
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 친구 | friend | A natural companion to bring to a gathering. |
| 동생 | younger sibling | Does not specify gender by itself. |
| 집 | home / house | Often the arrival point in an invitation. |
| 혼자 | alone | Contrasts with arriving with someone else. |
For names of other relatives you might collect or invite, see the family vocabulary lesson.
Mini Drill: Bring Someone Here
- Give the polite present of 데려오다.
- Change 데려와요 to the polite past.
- Complete “if you bring”: 데려오다 → ____.
- In 동생을 학교에서 데려왔어요, is school the starting place or the destination?
Show drill answers
- 데려와요. 오 plus 아 contracts to 와.
- 데려왔어요.
- 데려오면. Keep 오 before 면.
- The starting place: 에서 means “from” here.
Quick Self-Test
- Which verb brings a book: 가져오다 or 데려오다?
- What expression honors an elder being brought along?
- Must the host already be at the meeting place to invite someone with 데려오세요?
Show answers
- 가져오다, because a book is a thing.
- 모시고 오다.
- No. The invitation can establish the future meeting place as the arrival point.
FAQ
Can I Bring a Friend with 가져오다?
No. 가져오다 is only for things. Say 친구를 데려와요 for bringing a friend.
What Do I Use for Someone I Respect?
Use the humble 모시고 오다 for an elder, a teacher or a boss, instead of 데려오다.
What Is the Conditional Form?
데려오면 (if you bring), as in 아이를 데려오면 같이 놀 수 있어요.
Which Particle Marks the Person?
The person or animal you bring takes 을/를: 친구를 데려오다.
What Is the Polite Past?
데려왔어요, read [데려와써요]. The 오 of the stem and the 아 of the ending merge into 와.
Related Verbs
Next Steps
Pair with 데려가다 and 가져오다, then 오다 and 만나다.
To try other forms of 데려오다 yourself, open the Korean verb conjugator; all entries are listed in the verb dictionary.