Grammar
-다고 말하다/밝히다
Meaning
Advanced-dago malhada/balkida
Reports what someone said, in indirect (reported) speech. The quoted clause takes its plain, indirect sentence-final ending (-ㄴ다/는다, -다, -이라 etc.) and is followed by 말하다 (say) or 밝히다 (state/reveal), rather than being quoted word-for-word.
Form
Verb (present): stem + -ㄴ다고 (no final consonant) or -는다고 (final consonant) + 말하다/밝히다. Adjective (present): stem + -다고 + 말하다/밝히다. Past (verb or adjective): stem + -았/었다고 + 말하다/밝히다. Noun + 이다: N(no batchim) + -라고, N(batchim) + -이라고 + 말하다/밝히다. 말하다 is neutral 'say'; 밝히다 is more formal, used when an official or organization states/reveals information.
Examples
앞으로도 금리를 올릴 필요가 있다고 말했다.
It said that it will need to keep raising rates going forward.
그는 다음 달에 한국에 간다고 말했다.
He said that he is going to Korea next month.
회사는 매출이 늘었다고 밝혔다.
The company stated that sales had increased.
전문가들은 이번 사태가 위기라고 말했다.
Experts said that this situation is a crisis.
Common mistakes & nuance
밝히다 is common in news writing when an official source confirms or announces something; 말하다 works in almost any context.
Similar grammar
- -자고 제안하다
-다고 말하다/밝히다 reports a plain statement. -자고 제안하다 reports a proposal or suggestion ('let's ~'), using the propositive ending -자 instead of the declarative ending.
- -(으)로 알려져 있다
-다고 말하다/밝히다 names who said it. -(으)로 알려져 있다 ('is known to be') reports information without attributing it to a specific speaker.