Korean Direct Quotation: "…"(이)라고 하다 and 보고

Korean direct quotation repeats someone's exact words with "…"(이)라고 하다 (친구가 "고마워"라고 했어요), and 보고 casually marks the listener you spoke or relayed a quote to (동생보고 빨리 오라고 했어요).

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

L3-21 🧩 Level 3 · TOPIK 3 direct quotation ⚡ 5-Q quiz at the end

Korean direct quotation repeats someone’s exact words by wrapping them in 큰따옴표 (「」) and adding ”…”(이)라고 하다 — 친구가 “고마워”라고 했어요 (my friend said “thanks”) — while 보고 casually marks the listener you spoke or relayed those words to: 동생보고 빨리 오라고 했어요 (I told my little brother to hurry). Welcome to Chapter 6, the quotation block — the skill of carrying other people’s words into your own sentences.

You closed the previous chapter getting comfortable with advanced 반말, choosing exactly how casual to sound. Now we use that ear for register in a new way: when you quote someone directly, every speech level and word stays frozen exactly as spoken. Master this clean copy-paste first, and next lesson’s indirect quotation — where you reshape the grammar — will click immediately.

Ten words for quoting people

These are the words you reach for whenever you report what someone said.

인용
i-nyong
quotation, citation
직접 인용을 배워요 — jik-jeop i-nyong-eul bae-wo-yo — we learn direct quotation
따옴표
tta-om-pyo
quotation marks
큰따옴표를 써요 — keun-tta-om-pyo-reul sseo-yo — we use double quotation marks
직접
jik-jeop
directly, in person
직접 들었어요 — jik-jeop deu-reo-sseo-yo — I heard it directly
전하다
jeon-ha-da
to convey, pass on (a message)
말을 그대로 전했어요 — ma-reul geu-dae-ro jeon-hae-sseo-yo — I passed on the words as they were
말하다
mal-ha-da
to say, speak
천천히 말했어요 — cheon-cheon-hi mal-hae-sseo-yo — I spoke slowly
묻다
mut-da
to ask (a question)
이유를 물었어요 — i-yu-reul mu-reo-sseo-yo — I asked the reason
대답하다
dae-da-pa-da
to answer, reply
바로 대답했어요 — ba-ro dae-da-pae-sseo-yo — I answered right away
외치다
oe-chi-da
to shout, cry out
크게 외쳤어요 — keu-ge oe-chyeo-sseo-yo — I shouted loudly
그대로
geu-dae-ro
as it is, verbatim
그대로 적었어요 — geu-dae-ro jeo-geo-sseo-yo — I wrote it down word for word
부탁하다
bu-ta-ka-da
to request, ask a favor
도와 달라고 부탁했어요 — do-wa dal-la-go bu-ta-kae-sseo-yo — I asked for help

Repeating exact words — ”…”(이)라고 하다

To quote someone word for word, put their exact sentence inside 큰따옴표 (「」) and follow it with (이)라고 하다. Nothing inside the quotes changes — the tense, the politeness level, even the pronouns stay exactly as the person said them.

「…」(이)라고 하다 — DIRECT QUOTE
「sentence」 + (이)라고 + 하다/말하다/묻다/대답하다

친구가 「고마워」라고 했어요 = my friend said, 「thanks」 그분이 「안녕하세요」라고 인사했어요 = he greeted me, saying 「hello」 의사가 「푹 쉬세요」라고 말했어요 = the doctor said, 「get plenty of rest」 아이가 「싫어요」라고 대답했어요 = the child answered, 「I don’t want to」

After a sentence you’ll almost always use 라고, because Korean sentences end in vowels or 다. The verb after 라고 is flexible: 하다 (say), 말하다 (speak), 묻다 (ask), 대답하다 (answer), 외치다 (shout), 인사하다 (greet).

Quoting a single noun — 이름이 「민수」라고 해요

The same marker handles a quoted name or label. Here the 이/라고 split actually matters: use 이라고 after a consonant, 라고 after a vowel.

(이)라고 — QUOTING A NAME/LABEL
Noun + (이)라고 하다 — 이라고 (consonant) · 라고 (vowel)

제 이름은 「민수」라고 해요 = my name is 「Minsu」 (consonant → 이라고… here 민수 takes 이라고) 이 음식은 「김밥」이라고 해요 = this food is called 「gimbap」 (consonant → 이라고) 저 사람을 「반장」이라고 불러요 = we call that person 「class leader」 그 가게는 「영주」라고 해요 = that shop is called 「Yeongju」 (vowel → 라고)

So a full sentence almost always takes 라고, while a consonant-final noun takes 이라고 (민수라고? — no: 민수 ends in 수, a vowel, so 라고; 김밥 ends in ㅂ, so 김밥이라고). Listen to the final sound and pick accordingly.

Marking who you told — 보고

To name the listener — the person you spoke to, asked, or relayed a quote to — casual Korean uses 보고 (≈ 한테 / 더러). It’s everyday, spoken, and especially common with quotations and commands.

보고 — TO (the listener), casual
Person + 보고 (= 한테 / 더러) + quoted speech

동생보고 빨리 오라고 했어요 = I told my little brother to come quickly 친구보고 같이 가자고 했어요 = I told my friend, let’s go together 엄마가 저보고 「공부해」라고 했어요 = Mom said to me, 「study」 누가 너보고 그렇게 말했어? = who said that to you?

Casual equivalent: 동생한테 말했어요 works too — 보고 and 더러 just sound more conversational. In writing or polite speech you’d use 에게 / 한테 instead.

Relaying a message word for word

Watch direct quotation and 보고 work together as you pass along exactly what someone said:

💬 PASSING ON THE MESSAGE 「…」라고 하다 + 보고 live
선생님이 뭐라고 하셨어요? What did the teacher say?
저보고 「숙제를 꼭 내세요」라고 하셨어요. She told me, “Be sure to hand in your homework.”
민수한테도 전해 주세요. Please pass it on to Minsu too.
네, 민수보고도 그대로 전할게요. Sure, I’ll relay it to Minsu word for word.
아까 민수가 뭐라고 물어봤어요? What did Minsu ask earlier?
저한테 「시험이 언제예요?」라고 물었어요. He asked me, “When is the exam?”

Three turns, two tools: 보고 names who was addressed (저보고, 민수보고), and 라고 freezes the exact words in 큰따옴표 (「숙제를 꼭 내세요」라고, 「시험이 언제예요?」라고). That’s a clean direct quote — the perfect setup for next lesson, where you’ll learn to reshape those same words into indirect quotation.

FAQ

What is the difference between direct quotation (라고) and indirect quotation (-다고)? Direct quotation repeats the exact words inside 큰따옴표 (「」) and then adds 라고 하다: 친구가 「내일 갈게」라고 했어요 = my friend said, 「I’ll go tomorrow.」 The words don’t change at all — same tense, same speech level, same pronouns. Indirect quotation drops the quotation marks and reshapes the verb: 친구가 내일 간다고 했어요 = my friend said he’d go tomorrow. Direct is like a recording; indirect is you retelling it in your own grammar. This lesson covers direct; the next lesson covers indirect.

When do I use (이)라고 vs just 라고? Use 이라고 after a consonant and 라고 after a vowel — the 이 is just a connector for pronounceability. For a quoted sentence, you almost always land on 라고 because Korean sentences end in 요, 다, 어, etc. (vowels or the syllable 다): 「고마워」라고, 「갈게요」라고. The 이라고 form shows up mainly with a single quoted NOUN ending in a consonant: 이름이 「민수」라고 해요 = his name is 「Minsu」; but 「영주」라고 해요 after a vowel. So: sentence → 라고; consonant-final noun → 이라고.

What does 보고 mean, and is it the same as 한테? 보고 marks the LISTENER — the person you speak, ask, or relay a quote to — and it’s casual, spoken Korean: 동생보고 빨리 오라고 했어요 = I told my little brother to hurry up. It’s interchangeable with 더러 and close to 한테, but 보고/더러 feel more colloquial and are especially common with quotation and commands. 한테 is the safe everyday default (동생한테 말했어요); 에게 is its written form. Reach for 보고 in relaxed conversation when you’re reporting what you told someone.

Next: indirect quotation — -다고/-냐고 하다. Previous: advanced 반말. Full path: curriculum hub.

⚡ 2-Minute Check

Q 1 / 8