Lesson 12
In Level 5 Lesson 10, you learned how to use -(이)라고 with nouns and final verbs related to speaking and having conversations.
Ex)
학생이라고 말하다 = to say that (someone) is a student
최고라고 하다 = to say that (something) is the best
It is coming back to you now, right? Good!
-(이)라고 is used when the verb immediately following -(이)라고 ends the sentence. So, what do you do when you want to add another noun after -(이)라고? The verb following -(이)라고 must be changed into adjective form.
Ex)
학생이라고 말하다 → 학생이라고 말하는
최고라고 하다 → 최고라고 하는
* Check out Level 3, Lesson 14 to review how to use this structure to turn action verbs into adjective form.
Shortened form
To say, “the person who they say is the best” or “the boy that says he is my friend”, use
-(이)라고 하다 + -는, which is -(이)라고 하는 when combined together.
Since -(이)라고 하는 is a bit lengthy, and Korean is big on efficiency, a shortened form of this is commonly used: -(이)라는.
Ex)
학생이라고 하는 사람 = the person who (they) say is a student
→ 학생이라는 사람
책이라고 하는 것 = the thing that (they) call a book
→ 책이라는 것
Usages
You can use this NOUN + -(이)라는 + NOUN form when:
(1) you want to talk about an abstract concept and its innate characteristics.
Ex)
LOVE is... / This thing called LOVE is... = 사랑은 = 사랑이라는 것은...
(2) you want to introduce what something is called or how it is described.
Ex)
The person who they say is a doctor... = 의사라는 사람은...
This person called Hyunwoo is... = 현우라는 사람은...
Sample Sentences
여기에 ‘스쿨푸드’라는 식당이 있어요.
= Here, there is a restaurant called “School Food”.
진석진이라는 선생님이 있어요.
= There is a teacher called Jin Seokjin.
* In English, you have to add “called Jin Seokjin”, “who is called Jin Seokjin”, or “whose name is Jin Seokjin” after “a teacher”, but in Korean, the order is reversed.
‘TalkToMeInKorean’이라는 웹사이트 알아요?
= Do you know the website called “TalkToMeInKorean”?
공부라는 것은, 재미없으면 오래 할 수 없어요.
= Studying is... (something that) you cannot do for a long time if it is not interesting.
* You can also say “공부는 재미없으면 오래 할 수 없어요.” If you say “공부라는 것은...”, you are talking about 공부 as the grand subject of the sentence.
내일, 알렉스라는 친구가 올 거예요.
= Tomorrow, a friend named Alex will come here.