haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4B › A/V-더라고(요)
A/V-더라고(요) — I noticed … · it turned out … — telling someone what you saw or found out yourself
I noticed … · it turned out … — telling someone what you saw or found out yourself. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4B, lesson 3: 알고 보니 그런 뜻이었어요 (So that's what it meant — culture gaps and misunderstandings).
What it means
-더라고(요) passes on something you yourself saw, heard or felt at some point in the past, as if you were bringing the scene back for the listener: 한국 사람들은 처음 만나면 나이를 묻더라고요 'Koreans ask your age when they first meet you, I've noticed'. Add 더라고요 straight to the stem of a verb or an adjective, with or without 받침: 묻더라고요, 많더라고요, 바쁘더라고요. With a noun use N이더라고요 after a 받침 and N더라고요 after a vowel: 학생이더라고요, 친구더라고요. When what you found had already happened by the time you saw it, put -았/었- in front: 가 보니까 자리가 벌써 다 찼더라고요 'when I got there, all the seats were already taken'. Because -더- means 'I observed it', the subject is normally someone or something else; you cannot use it for your own deliberate actions (제가 어제 서울식당에 가더라고요 ✗ — just say 갔어요). Your own feelings and sensations are fine, because you observe them too: 처음에는 저도 좀 어색하더라고요 'at first I felt a bit awkward too'. Compared with the endings you already know, -던데요 (Lesson 3A-4) leaves the sentence open for the other person's reply, -더군요 (Lesson 4A-6) sounds like a small discovery said half to yourself, and -더라고요 is the plain, everyday way to share an experience — in chats, reviews and vlogs as much as in talk. To a friend, drop 요: 그 식당 정말 맛있더라고. For something you only heard from someone else, use -대요 (Lesson 3A-1) instead.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A/V-더라고(요) · N(이)더라고요 | 동사 · 형용사 — 받침이 있어도 없어도 더라고요 · 명사 — 받침 O 이더라고요 · 받침 X 더라고요 | 묻다 + 더라고요 → 묻더라고요 |
| -았/었더라고요 | 가 보니까 이미 끝나 있던 일 · 이미 된 모습 — 앞에 「벌써」가 자주 와요 | 차다 + 았더라고요 → 찼더라고요 |
Key points
- -더라고(요) = I saw it, heard it or felt it myself, and now I'm passing it on: the stem + 더라고요, with or without 받침 (많더라고요 · 바쁘더라고요 · 묻더라고요); a noun → N(이)더라고요 (학생이더라고요 · 친구더라고요). To a friend: -더라고.
- -았/었더라고요 = when you looked, it had already happened (자리가 벌써 다 찼더라고요). The subject is what you watched — not your own actions (제가 가더라고요 ✗); with 저 it works only for feelings (저는 좀 어색하더라고요). Of -던데요 (3A-4), -더군요 (4A-6) and -더라고요, this is the everyday one.
Examples
- 내가 직접 보거나 듣거나 느낀 것을 지금 다른 사람에게 전할 때 써요: 한국 사람들은 처음 만나면 나이를 묻더라고요.
- 동사 · 형용사는 받침이 있어도 없어도 -더라고요(묻더라고요 · 바쁘더라고요). 명사는 받침 O 이더라고요 · 받침 X 더라고요(학생이더라고요 · 친구더라고요).
- 가 보니까 이미 끝나 있던 일은 -았/었더라고요: 가 보니까 자리가 벌써 다 찼더라고요.
- 내가 한 일에는 쓰지 않아요(제가 가더라고요 ✗). 내 느낌은 괜찮아요: 처음에는 저도 좀 어색하더라고요.
- 친구에게는 요를 빼고 -더라고: 그 식당 정말 맛있더라고.
- -던데요(3A 4과) · -더군요(4A 6과)와 비슷하지만 말할 때는 -더라고요를 제일 자주 써요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 4B, lesson 11; Yonsei University Korean 4-1, lesson 6; Sogang University Korean 3B, lesson 4; Hongik University Korean 3A, lesson 2; Hanyang University Korean 4-2, lesson 12.
Also in this lesson
- A/V-더라 · -더라? — it was … (casual) · what was it again? — recalling out loud
- N치고 · N치고는 — every … almost without exception · for a … — what's typical, and what's surprising
- A-다는 것은 N에서/N(으)로 알 수 있다 — you can tell … from … — giving evidence in written Korean