Korean Causative Verbs — Making Someone Do Something

<h2>Making Someone Do Something: The Causative Concept</h2> <p>In English, we use "make/have/let + verb" to express causing someone to do something: "I make the child eat," "She makes me laugh." In Korean, there are two main ways to express this — and both are essential for daily life.</p> <p>After 12 years living in Seoul, I can confirm that causatives are everywhere, especially when talking about children, food, or work situations. Let's see how they work.</p> <h2>Method 1: Causative Suffixes -이/히/리/기/우/추</h2> <p>Like the passive voice, some verbs have a special causative form. You add a suffix to the verb stem:</p> <table> <tr><th>Suffix</th><th>Base Verb</th><th>Meaning</th><th>Causative Verb</th><th>Meaning</th></tr> <tr><td>-이</td><td>먹다 (meokda)</td><td>to eat</td><td>먹이다 (meogida)</td><td>to feed</td></tr> <tr><td>-이</td><td>보다 (boda)</td><td>to see</td><td>보이다 (boida)</td><td>to show</td></tr> <tr><td>-이</td><td>죽다 (jukda)</td><td>to die</td><td>죽이다 (jugida)</td><td>to kill (make die)</td></tr> <tr><td>-히</td><td>읽다 (ikda)</td><td>to read</td><td>읽히다 (ilkhida)</td><td>to make read</td></tr> <tr><td>-히</td><td>앉다 (anda)</td><td>to sit</td><td>앉히다 (anchida)</td><td>to seat someone</td></tr> <tr><td>-히</td><td>눕다 (nupda)</td><td>to lie down</td><td>눕히다 (nuphida)</td><td>to lay someone down</td></tr> <tr><td>-리</td><td>알다 (alda)</td><td>to know</td><td>알리다 (allida)</td><td>to inform / notify</td></tr> <tr><td>-리</td><td>울다 (ulda)</td><td>to cry</td><td>울리다 (ullida)</td><td>to make cry</td></tr> <tr><td>-기</td><td>웃다 (utda)</td><td>to laugh</td><td>웃기다 (utgida)</td><td>to make laugh / to be funny</td></tr> <tr><td>-기</td><td>벗다 (beotda)</td><td>to take off (clothes)</td><td>벗기다 (beotgida)</td><td>to undress someone</td></tr> <tr><td>-우</td><td>자다 (jada)</td><td>to sleep</td><td>재우다 (jaeuda)</td><td>to put to sleep</td></tr> <tr><td>-우</td><td>깨다 (kkaeda)</td><td>to wake up</td><td>깨우다 (kkaeuda)</td><td>to wake someone up</td></tr> <tr><td>-우</td><td>타다 (tada)</td><td>to ride</td><td>태우다 (taeuda)</td><td>to give a ride</td></tr> <tr><td>-추</td><td>낮다 (natda)</td><td>to be low</td><td>낮추다 (natchuda)</td><td>to lower</td></tr> </table> <h3>Warning: Passive and Causative Share the Same Suffixes!</h3> <p>Did you notice? The suffixes -이/히/리/기 are the same for both passive and causative. Only context tells them apart. For example:</p> <ul> <li>보이다 (boida) = to be seen (passive) OR to show (causative)</li> <li>읽히다 (ilkhida) = to be read (passive) OR to make read (causative)</li> </ul> <p>The sentence context resolves the ambiguity.</p> <h2>Method 2: -게 하다 (The Universal Solution)</h2> <p>If you don't know the special causative form of a verb, don't panic. The structure <strong>-게 하다</strong> works with almost everything:</p> <p><strong>Verb stem + -게 하다 = to make/let someone do</strong></p> <table> <tr><th>Verb</th><th>+ -게 하다</th><th>Meaning</th></tr> <tr><td>먹다 (meokda)</td><td>먹게 하다 (meokge hada)</td><td>to make eat</td></tr> <tr><td>[가다](/en/dictionary/%EA%B0%80%EB%8B%A4) (gada)</td><td>가게 하다 (gage hada)</td><td>to make/let go</td></tr> <tr><td>공부하다 (gongbuhada)</td><td>공부하게 하다 (gongbuhage hada)</td><td>to make study</td></tr> <tr><td>웃다 (utda)</td><td>웃게 하다 (utge hada)</td><td>to make laugh</td></tr> <tr><td>울다 (ulda)</td><td>울게 하다 (ulge hada)</td><td>to make cry</td></tr> </table> <h3>Nuance Between Suffix and -게 하다</h3> <ul> <li><strong>먹이다</strong> (meogida) = to feed → direct, physical action (putting food in someone's mouth)</li> <li><strong>먹게 하다</strong> (meokge hada) = to make eat → causing the action (convincing, allowing, forcing)</li> </ul> <p>The suffix form often implies a <em>direct</em> action, while -게 하다 is more neutral or indirect.</p> <h2>Everyday Examples</h2> <h3>With Children</h3> <ul> <li>아기를 재웠어요. (agireul jaeusseoyo) — I put the baby to sleep.</li> <li>아이에게 밥을 먹였어요. (aiege babeul meogyeosseoyo) — I fed the child.</li> <li>아이를 의자에 앉혔어요. (aireul uijae anchyeosseoyo) — I seated the child on the chair.</li> <li>아침에 아이를 깨웠어요. (achime aireul kkaeusseoyo) — I woke the child up in the morning.</li> </ul> <h3>At Work</h3> <ul> <li>부장님이 저를 일하게 했어요. (bujangnimi jeoreul ilhage haesseoyo) — The boss made me work.</li> <li>고객에게 소식을 알렸어요. (gogaek-ege sosik-eul allyeosseoyo) — I notified the client.</li> <li>팀장이 저를 웃겼어요. (timjangi jeoreul utgyeosseoyo) — The team leader made me laugh.</li> </ul> <h3>Common Situations</h3> <ul> <li>이 영화가 저를 울렸어요. (i yeonghwaga jeoreul ullyeosseoyo) — This movie made me cry.</li> <li>소리를 낮추세요. (sorireul natchuseyo) — Please lower the volume.</li> <li>택시를 태워 주세요. (taeksireul taewo juseyo) — Please give me a ride in the taxi.</li> </ul> <h2>Summary Table: Suffix vs -게 하다</h2> <table> <tr><th>Situation</th><th>Causative Suffix</th><th>-게 하다</th></tr> <tr><td>Direct, physical action</td><td>✅ Preferred</td><td>Possible</td></tr> <tr><td>Indirect action (allow, force)</td><td>Sometimes</td><td>✅ Preferred</td></tr> <tr><td>Verb with no known causative form</td><td>❌ Not possible</td><td>✅ Always works</td></tr> </table> <h2>Exercises</h2> <p>Transform these sentences using the causative:</p> <ol> <li>아이가 자요. (The child sleeps.) → I put the child to sleep. → _______</li> <li>학생이 책을 읽어요. (The student reads a book.) → The teacher makes the student read. → _______</li> <li>친구가 웃어요. (My friend laughs.) → I make my friend laugh. → _______</li> </ol> <p><strong>Answers:</strong></p> <ol> <li>아이를 재워요. / 아이를 자게 해요.</li> <li>선생님이 학생에게 책을 읽혀요. / 선생님이 학생이 책을 읽게 해요.</li> <li>친구를 웃겨요. / 친구를 웃게 해요.</li> </ol> <h2>Ready to Master Causatives?</h2> <p>Causatives give you enormous expressive power in Korean. On <a href="/en/signup">Seonsaengnim</a>, you'll find progressive exercises to practice these structures in real situations. Get started!</p>