Learn Korean: Noun + 라고

Let’s take a look at the Korean sentence pattern Noun + 라고. We use this to make a reporting statement involving the verbs 이다 and 아니다. 이다 is used to say that a noun is a noun and 아니다 is used to say that a noun is not a noun. One reporting verb we can use is 말하다 (to say or tell) which simplifies into 하다 when combined with 라고 as in 라고 하다. For example, A says to B, I am a student. Then, B tells C (Person A) said that he is a student. The main noun is *student. In Korean, it is 학생. We attach the verb 이다. Next, we get rid of 다 and replace it with 라고 하다 (학생이라고 하다). The statement has been said, so we conjugate 하다 into its past tense form (했다). The actual sentence is 학생이라고 했어(요). In case the subject is not clear to the listener, we can add it at the beginning of the sentence. If Person A’s name is Yuri (유리), we say 유리가(는) 학생이라고 했어(요). If the main noun ends in a vowel, we use 라고 instead of 이라고. Here's an example in negative. A says to B, I am not a doctor. Then, B tells C (Person A) said that he is not a doctor. The main noun is *doctor. In Korean, it is 의사. We add the verb 아니다. Next, we get rid of 다 and replace it with 라고 하다 (아니라고 하다). The statement has been said so we conjugate 하다 into its past tense form (했다). The actual sentence is 학생(이) 아니라고 했어요. If it was Yuri who made the statement, we say 유리가(는) 학생(이) 아니라고 했어요. The subject particle is attached to the main noun. Use 이 if the word ends in a consonant and 가 if the word ends in a vowel. Nevertheless, it is often dropped in spoken language.

게이 아니라고 했어.

He said he isn’t gay.

유부남이라고 했어요.

He said that he is married.

한국인이라고 했어.

He said he is Korean.