Korean Causative Verbs: 사동 (-이/히/리/기/우-, -게 하다, 시키다)

Korean makes someone do something three ways: morphological causatives (먹다→먹이다 feed, 자다→재우다 put to sleep), -게 하다 (학생들에게 발표하게 했어요 — I had the students present), and 시키다 (부장님이 발표를 시키셨어요 — the boss made me present).

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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)

L4-04 🚀 Level 4 · TOPIK 4 causative verbs ⚡ 5-Q quiz at the end

Korean has three ways to say you made someone (or something) do something. First, morphological causatives — special verb forms built with -이/히/리/기/우/추-: 먹다→먹이다 (feed), 자다→재우다 (put to sleep), 입다→입히다 (dress someone), 태우다 (give a ride). Second, -게 하다, which attaches to any verb to mean make/let someone do: 학생들에게 발표하게 했어요 (I had the students present). Third, 시키다, “to order/assign”: 부장님이 저한테 발표를 시키셨어요 (the boss made me give the presentation). Causatives are the flip side of plain verbs: 자다 is you sleep, 재우다 is you make someone else sleep.

These three cover everything from parenting to the office. A heads-up before we start: the morphological suffixes -이/히/리/기 are the same shapes used to build passive verbs in Grade 3 — so 보이다 can mean “show” (causative) or “be seen” (passive), with voice and context deciding. Once you’ve got causatives, you’ll also handle workplace reporting like a native, since “who made whom do what” runs every office. Start with ten high-frequency causative verbs.

Ten causative verbs to know

These are the morphological causatives you’ll reach for daily — learn each as its own word.

먹이다
meo-gi-da
to feed (make eat)
아기에게 우유를 먹여요 — a-gi-e-ge u-yu-reul meo-gyeo-yo — I feed the baby milk
입히다
i-pi-da
to dress someone
아이에게 옷을 입혔어요 — a-i-e-ge o-seul i-pyeo-sseo-yo — I dressed the child
재우다
jae-u-da
to put to sleep
아이를 일찍 재웠어요 — a-i-reul il-jjik jae-wo-sseo-yo — I put the child to sleep early
깨우다
kkae-u-da
to wake someone up
아침에 동생을 깨웠어요 — a-chim-e dong-saeng-eul kkae-wo-sseo-yo — I woke my brother in the morning
태우다
tae-u-da
to give a ride
친구를 차에 태웠어요 — chin-gu-reul cha-e tae-wo-sseo-yo — I gave my friend a ride in the car
알리다
al-li-da
to inform, let know
결과를 알려 주세요 — gyeol-gwa-reul al-lyeo ju-se-yo — please let me know the result
시키다
si-ki-da
to make/order someone do
청소를 시켰어요 — cheong-so-reul si-kyeo-sseo-yo — I made (them) clean
맡기다
mat-gi-da
to entrust, leave to
일을 후배에게 맡겼어요 — i-reul hu-bae-e-ge mat-gyeo-sseo-yo — I entrusted the work to a junior
키우다
ki-u-da
to raise, bring up
강아지를 키워요 — gang-a-ji-reul ki-wo-yo — I raise a puppy
세우다
se-u-da
to stop/park, stand (sth) up
차를 길가에 세웠어요 — cha-reul gil-ga-e se-wo-sseo-yo — I parked the car by the road

Built-in causatives — -이/히/리/기/우/추-

A set of verbs forms its causative with an inserted suffix. Which suffix is lexical — memorize it per verb, like 자다→재우다.

MORPHOLOGICAL CAUSATIVE
plain V → causative V (cause someone/something to V)

-이-: 먹다→먹이다 feed · 보다→보이다 show · 죽다→죽이다 kill -히-: 입다→입히다 dress · 앉다→앉히다 seat · 읽다→읽히다 make read -리-: 살다→살리다 save · 알다→알리다 inform · 울다→울리다 make cry -기-: 웃다→웃기다 make laugh · 씻다→씻기다 wash sb · 남다→남기다 leave behind -우-: 자다→재우다 put to sleep · 깨다→깨우다 wake · 타다→태우다 give a ride · 크다→키우다 raise -추-: 낮다→낮추다 lower · 늦다→늦추다 postpone

One caution: -이/히/리/기 are the very same suffixes that build the passive (피동). So 보이다 = “show” (causative) and “be seen” (passive); 읽히다 = “make read” and “be read.” The meaning splits by voice — who is doing what to whom — so read the whole sentence, not just the verb. 책을 읽혀요 = I make (someone) read a book; 이 책은 잘 읽혀요 = this book reads easily (passive).

Make / let anyone do it — -게 하다

When a verb has no built-in causative, or you want “make / let,” attach -게 하다 to any plain stem. The causee is marked 을/를 or 에게/한테.

-게 하다 — UNIVERSAL CAUSATIVE
V-게 하다 (make / let someone V)

동생을 자게 했어요 = I made my brother sleep / sent him to bed 학생들에게 발표하게 했어요 = I had the students give presentations 잠깐 쉬게 해 주세요 = please let (me) rest a moment 아이가 스스로 하게 했어요 = I let the child do it on their own

The contrast with morphological causatives is about directness. 아이에게 밥을 먹였어요 = I fed the child (I did the feeding); 아이가 밥을 먹게 했어요 = I made/let the child eat (the child ate). The -게 하다 version steps back and lets the other person act, which is why it also carries the “let / allow” sense — 놀게 해 주세요 = please let (them) play.

Order or assign it — 시키다

To order someone to do a task, use 시키다. It pairs with a task noun (발표를 시키다) and fuses onto Sino-Korean action nouns (공부시키다, 청소시키다). The person made to act is marked 에게/한테.

시키다 — ORDER / ASSIGN
N을/를 시키다 · N + 시키다 (make/order someone do; assign)

부장님이 저한테 발표를 시키셨어요 = the boss made me give the presentation 후배에게 청소를 시켰어요 = I made my junior clean 엄마가 동생을 공부시켜요 = Mom makes my brother study 뭘 시킬까요? = what should we order? (also “to order food”)

Note that 시키다 doubles as “order food” — 짜장면을 시켰어요 = I ordered jjajangmyeon. In the office, 시키다 fits delegated work (일을 시키다), while -게 하다 covers any “made/let them do” situation. And don’t confuse 시키다 (make do) with 식히다 (cool down) — same sound, different verb.

Who made you do this?

A late-night office chat — causatives stacking naturally:

💬 WHO MADE YOU DO IT? 시키다 + -게 하다 + 재우다 live
아직도 회사야? 왜 이렇게 늦어? Still at the office? Why so late?
부장님이 갑자기 발표를 시키셔서 자료 만드는 중이야. The boss suddenly made me do a presentation, so I’m making the slides.
헐. 후배한테 좀 맡기지 그랬어. Ugh. You should’ve handed some of it to a junior.
반은 후배한테 하게 했어. 그래도 내가 마무리해야 돼. I had a junior do half. Still, I have to finish it.
애들은? 누가 재웠어? And the kids? Who put them to bed?
와이프가 먼저 먹이고 재웠대. 나는 아침에 깨우기만 하면 돼. My wife fed them and put them to sleep first. I just have to wake them in the morning.
고생한다. 일찍 들어가서 좀 쉬게 해 달라고 해. You’re working hard. Go home early and ask them to let you rest.

Watch the causatives at work: 시키다 assigns the task, 하게 하다 delegates it, 맡기다 entrusts it, and 먹이다/재우다/깨우다 handle the kids — every “make someone do” relationship in one conversation.

FAQ

How do I know which suffix (-이/히/리/기/우/추-) a verb takes? You memorize it per verb — there’s no rule that predicts it, just like English ‘rise/raise’ or ‘sit/set.’ Common ones: -이- (먹이다 feed, 보이다 show, 죽이다 kill), -히- (입히다 dress, 앉히다 seat, 읽히다 make read), -리- (살리다 save, 알리다 inform, 울리다 make cry), -기- (웃기다 make laugh, 씻기다 wash someone, 남기다 leave behind, 벗기다 take off someone), -우- (재우다 put to sleep, 깨우다 wake, 태우다 give a ride, 키우다 raise), -추- (낮추다 lower, 늦추다 postpone). Only a limited set of verbs form causatives this way; learn them as vocabulary.

When should I use -게 하다 instead of a morphological causative like 먹이다? Use -게 하다 when the verb has no morphological causative, or when you want to stress ‘let / allow’ or making someone act on their own. -게 하다 works on ANY verb: 공부하게 했어요 (made them study), 쉬게 해 주세요 (please let me rest), 발표하게 했어요 (had them present). Morphological causatives like 먹이다, 입히다, 재우다 are tighter and more direct — often physically doing it to someone (feeding, dressing, putting to bed). 아이에게 밥을 먹였어요 = I fed the child (spooned it in); 아이가 밥을 먹게 했어요 = I made/let the child eat (they ate themselves).

What’s the difference between 시키다 and -게 하다? Both make someone do something, but 시키다 is ‘order / assign,’ often a task or a noun: 발표를 시키다 (assign a presentation), 청소를 시키다 (make someone clean), and with Sino-Korean nouns it fuses — 공부시키다, 운동시키다. -게 하다 is the all-purpose grammatical causative for full verbs. In an office, 시키다 fits delegated tasks (부장님이 일을 시키셨어요 = the boss assigned the work), while -게 하다 covers any ‘made/let them do’ situation. Note 시키다 also means ‘to order food’: 짜장면을 시켰어요 = I ordered jjajangmyeon.

Next: rumor quotes — -대요, -래요. Previous: meeting phrases — -다시피, -는지. Full path: curriculum hub.

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