더라고/ 더라고요 Korean grammar in detail
더라고(요) is used when you recall your memory from the past and tell or report it to other people. When you directly experienced ( seeing, finding, hearing, realizing, etc) something and tell that to others then you can use 더라고(요). 더라고(요) can also be used when you tell or share something (your experience) to other people. For example-
영화관에 가니까 사람이 정말 많더라고요. I went to the movie theatre and there were a lot of people. Here in this phrase, the speaker is speaking about his/her experience of a movie theatre. The speaker could say 영화관에 가니까 사람이 정말 있었어요. But 더라고요 is more strong (강조).
When something surprised you then you can use this grammar (더라고). It is attached after the verb stem. 더라고요 shows speaker’s remembrance of his/ her former event or action that the speaker directly feel/see or hear. For example-
네팔에서 여행을 해 보니까 파다 하나도 없더라고요. After travelling to Nepal, (I directly saw that) Nepal really doesn’t have any sea.
It was much harder than I expected. 생각보다 어렵 더라고요.
민주 씨는 한국 사람이지만 매운 음식을 잘 못 먹더라고요.Though Minju is Korean, she didn’t eat hot food.
수만 씨는 아까 뻐원 씨하고 도서관에 가더라고요. Suman went to the library with Pawan.
수미 씨 남자 친구를 봤는데 키가 크더라고요. I saw Sumi’s boyfriend and he is tall.
뉴스에서 춥다고 했는데 별로 춥지 않더라고요. The news said it was cold, but it wasn’t that cold.
어제 민주 씨와 같이 도서관에 간 사람이 선생님이더라고요. Yesterday the person who went with minju was a teacher.
더라고요 examples
| A/V | N 이다 |
| 많다 – 많더라고요 | 환자 – 환자더라고요 |
| 좋다 – 졸더라고요 | 의사 – 의사더라고요 |
| 잘하다 – 잘더라고요 | 학생 – 학생이더라고요 |
| 괜찮다 – 괜찮더라고요 | 선생님 – 선생님이더라고요 |
| 크다 – 더라고요 | 휴일 – 휴일이더라고요 |
| 사다 – 사더라고요 | 한복 – 한복이더라고요 |
| 선택하다 – 선택하더라고요 | 하늘 – 하늘이더라고요 |
더라고(요) vs 았/었어요
더라고(요)is past tense and it is little similar with 았/었어요. Native Korean use 더라고(요) more often. Though both 았/었어요 and 더라고(요) have similar meaning 더라고(요) is stronger than 았/었어요. And When somebody use 더라고(요) the listener will reply like 정말요? (Really?). You can use 았/었어요 but if you want to speak like native Korean you can use 더라고(요). Let’s see an example-
사람이 많았어요 can be 사람이 많이 있더라고요. There were many people.
양고기 쌌어요 can be 양고기 싸더라고요. Mutton was cheap/ inexpensive
깜짝 놀랐습니다 can be 깜짝 놀라더라고요. surprised.
이야기도 안하고 도망갔어요. Can be 이야기도 안하고 도망가 더라고요. Ran away without talking.
더라고(요) Korean grammar rule
Now lets learn how to use 더라고(요). It can be used with both verbs and adjectives. Whether there is a final consonant (받침) or not 더라고(요) is used. We don’t need to change the form of verb stem/ adjective stem. For example-
입다 입더라고요
많다 많더라고요
하다 하더라고요
쓰다 쓰더라고요
But when there is noun (명사), (이)더라고(요) is used.
밥이더라고(요)
의사이더라고.
Korean phrases
A- 헬스장 어땠어요?
B- 기구가 많아서 재미있더라고요.
A- 늦어서 죄송합니다.
B- 괜찮아요. 오늘은 길이 많이 막히더라고요.
A- 아침에 버스로 출근하는 게 어때요?
B- 사람이 많아서 복잡 하더라고요.
A- 인터넷으로 쇼핑하는 사람이 많아요?
B- 생각보다 많더라고요.
더라고요 Summary
더라고요 is used when the speaker know/learned something new. It can not be used to state speaker’s already known fact.
우리 집에 거실 크더라고요. INCORRECT
우리 집에 거실 커요. CORRECT
The subject of the sentence cannot be the first person or speaker.
나는 배고파서 밥 먹더라고요. INCORRECT
나는 배고파서 밥 먹었어요. CORRECT
