Key Facts
- Hangul: 시키다 (sikida)
- Meaning: to order; to make (someone) do
- Level: A2
- Stem: 시키
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: transitive
What Does 시키다 Mean?
시키다 has a food sense and a task sense. In the food sense you order a dish or a drink, as in 짜장면을 시키다. In the task sense you get someone to do a job, as in 아이에게 심부름을 시키다. The thing ordered or the task takes 을/를, and the person who has to do it takes 에게 or 한테.
It sounds casual and spoken, and is most at home in restaurants and delivery chats: 뭐 시킬까요? In formal notices, write 주문하다 instead. Do not confuse it with 식히다 (to cool).
How Do You Pronounce 시키다?
시키다 is read as written, si-ki-da. The one point to listen for is the tense 써 in past forms: 시켰어요 is said [시켜써요]. In 시킵니다 the ㅂ turns into ㅁ before ㄴ, giving [시킴니다].
How Do You Use 시키다 in a Sentence?
우리는 치킨을 시켜요.
We order fried chicken.
시켜요 with 우리는 and 치킨을: a group deciding what to order for dinner.
어제 피자를 시켰어요.
I ordered pizza yesterday.
시켰어요 with 어제 and 피자를: a past order, with the food as the object.
음식을 시키면 금방 와요.
If you order food, it comes quickly.
시키면 with 금방 와요 describes the usual speed of delivery. The if-clause is a common way to talk about what happens when you order.
How Does Sikida Conjugation Work?
The stem 시키 ends in 키. Before 어, ㅣ and ㅓ combine into ㅕ, so you get 시켜요, 시켰어요, 시켜서. Other endings attach to the whole stem: 시킵니다, 시키세요, 시키는. The future is 시킬 거예요, and the negatives are 안 시켜요 and 시키지 않아요.
시키다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 시켜요 | ||
| Polite past | 시켰어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 시킬 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 시키겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 시킵니다 | ||
| Formal past | 시켰습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 시킬 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 시켜 | ||
| Casual past | 시켰어 | ||
| Casual future | 시킬 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 시키고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 시키세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 시켜서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 시키면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 시키는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 시킨 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 시킬 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 시켜요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 시키지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 시켰어요 | [시켜써요] |
| Future plan | 시킬 거예요 | [시킬꺼예요] |
| Future guess | 시키겠어요 | [시키게써요] |
| Formal now | 시킵니다 | [시킴니다] |
| Formal past | 시켰습니다 | [시켣씀니다] |
| Formal future | 시킬 것입니다 | [시킬꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 시켰어 | [시켜써] |
| Casual future | 시킬 거야 | [시킬꺼야] |
| Want to | 시키고 싶어요 | [시키고 시퍼요] |
| Long negative | 시키지 않아요 | [시키지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 친구를 청소를 시켜요.
Correct: ✓ 친구에게 청소를 시켜요.
Why: In the standard pattern, the person made to do the task takes 에게/한테, while the task itself takes 을/를. Think of the structure as 'who does what': the doer is a person, so 에게 or 한테; the job is a thing, so 을/를.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 시키다 |
|---|---|
| 주문하다 | 주문하다 is the formal word for ordering (in a restaurant or online); 시키다 is the casual spoken word for ordering food or delivery. |
| 하다 | 하다 is to do yourself; 시키다 is to have someone else do it. |
Ordering Dinner with a Coworker
Two coworkers are arranging a delivery meal at the office. One checks whether an order already exists before making a second one.
Jisu
피자를 시켰어요?
Pijareul sikyeosseoyo?
Did you order pizza?
Alex
아니요. 치킨을 시키고 싶어요.
Aniyo. Chikineul sikigo sipeoyo.
No. I want to order fried chicken.
Jisu
좋아요. 같이 시켜요.
Joayo. Gachi sikyeoyo.
Sounds good. Let’s order together.
Alex
네. 제가 시킬 거예요.
Ne. Jega sikil geoyeyo.
Okay. I’m going to place the order.
시켰어요 checks for a completed order. 시키고 싶어요 states a preference, and 시킬 거예요 announces a plan. 같이 시켜요 uses the polite present as a suggestion in this setting. None of these lines asks a person to carry out a task; the food nouns make the ordering sense clear.
Food Orders and Assigned Jobs
음식을 시키다 means “to order food”. The literal action is placing the order, so 시켰어요 does not say that the food has arrived or been eaten. If a coworker asks whether dinner has been ordered, a past-tense answer settles that one step. Delivery and eating happen later.
일을 시키다 means “to give someone work” or “to make someone work”. 심부름을 시키다 means to send someone on an errand. Here the object names a task, so the meaning shifts away from restaurant ordering. In 아이에게 심부름을 시키다, the child is the person assigned the errand; 심부름 is what that person must do.
The task use can imply authority. A manager can assign work, but describing a request to a friend with 시키다 may make it sound like an instruction. 부탁하다, “to ask a favor”, is useful when cooperation is voluntary. 요 makes a sentence polite to the listener; it does not remove the sense of making someone do a job.
Where Will You Hear 시키다?
Friends use 시키다 while choosing delivery food, dividing an order, or checking what someone ordered at a restaurant. Staff and ordering interfaces often use 주문하다. Both words can appear in polite conversation; the difference is word choice and setting, rather than a rule that one must always be casual speech.
At work or in family dialogue, listen for the noun before 시키다. Food points to an order; cleaning, work, or an errand points to someone being told to do something. In a drama, the same familiar verb can therefore move from a friendly dinner plan to an argument about being bossed around.
A restaurant reservation needs 예약하다. Reserving a table and ordering a dish are separate actions, even if English uses “book” or “order” loosely in a longer plan. The noun and the purpose decide which Korean verb fits.
Contraction, Spacing, and 식히다
시키- keeps its full shape in 시키면 and 시키는. It contracts before 어, giving 시켜요 and 시켜서. For the future, attach ㄹ to make 시킬, then leave a space before 거예요. Write 시키고 싶어요 with a space before 싶어요 as well.
시키다 and 식히다 are different spellings for different actions. 식히다 means “to cool”, for example when hot food needs to lose heat. Its sound can resemble 시키다 because of the consonants meeting inside the word. A spoken sentence about soup may need its surrounding context; a written recipe gives you the spelling. Do not add a ㅎ when writing about ordering food.
The two roles in the task pattern also deserve attention. Start with the clear model 친구에게 청소를 시켜요: the person takes 에게 and the task takes 를. This keeps the person doing the job separate from the job itself.
Words for the Next Step of an Order
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 주문 | order | The noun used for the order itself. |
| 배달 | delivery | Describes getting the food brought to you. |
| 메뉴 | menu / menu item | Helps name what you are choosing. |
| 부탁하다 | to ask a favor | Useful when asking someone to help with the order. |
The restaurant vocabulary lesson teaches the meal and ordering words that accompany 시키다. Knowing 주문 and 배달 helps you distinguish placing an order from receiving it.
Mini Drill: Food or Task
- Say “I ordered” politely in the past.
- Complete 친구____ 청소를 시켜요 with a person marker.
- Give the present noun modifier of 시키다.
- Write the polite want-to form with its correct spacing.
Show drill answers
- 시켰어요.
- 에게 or 한테.
- 시키는.
- 시키고 싶어요.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 피자를 시켰어요 prove the pizza has arrived?
- Which verb means reserving a table?
- Which spelling means ordering: 시키다 or 식히다?
Show answers
- No. It says that the order was placed.
- 예약하다.
- 시키다; 식히다 means to cool.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say 'I Ordered Pizza'?
Use the past form: 어제 피자를 시켰어요.
Which Particle Marks the Person Who Must Do the Task?
Use 에게 or 한테: 친구에게 청소를 시켜요.
Is 시키다 the Same as 주문하다?
Both mean to order. 시키다 is casual and spoken, while 주문하다 is the formal word for restaurants and online orders.
How Is 시키다 Different from 하다?
하다 means you do it yourself; 시키다 means someone else does it.
Which Words Are Related to 시키다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Look at 주문하다, 예약하다, 시작하다 and 부탁하다 for related requests, and 하다 for the do-it-yourself verb.
The polite present recipe explains the pattern behind 시켜요, and the conjugator checks any other form. The dictionary lists the rest.