Grammar
-자고 제안하다
Meaning
Expert-jago jeanhada
Combines the propositive ending -자 ('let's ~') with 제안하다 ('to propose/suggest'), used to report that someone suggested doing something together. It's the indirect-quotation form of a suggestion — just as -다고 하다 reports a statement, -자고 하다 reports a proposal, and 제안하다 specifically frames it as an explicit, often formal, proposal.
Form
Attach -자 to a verb stem to form the propositive ('let's ~'), then add 고 제안하다: 가다 → 가자고 제안하다 ('proposed that we go'), 만들다 → 만들자고 제안하다. The subject of 제안하다 is the person making the proposal; what precedes 자고 is the content of the suggestion. -자고 제안하다 can be shortened to the more casual -자고 하다 ('said let's ~') when the formality of 'propose' isn't needed.
Examples
CEO는 새 생태계를 만들자고 제안했습니다.
The CEO proposed building a new ecosystem together.
그는 함께 저녁을 먹자고 제안했다.
He suggested that we eat dinner together.
위원회는 규정을 바꾸자고 제안했다.
The committee proposed changing the regulation.
학생들은 회의를 열자고 제안했다.
The students proposed holding a meeting.
Common mistakes & nuance
The verb before 자고 must be in its plain propositive stem form (-자), not a polite form like -ㅂ시다 or -어요. So it's 만들자고 제안하다, never 만듭시다고 제안하다 — a common error for learners building this indirect-speech pattern.
Similar grammar
- -다고 말하다/밝히다
-다고 말하다/밝히다 reports a plain statement someone made ('said that ~'). -자고 제안하다 specifically reports a suggestion in propositive form ('proposed that we ~') — the sentence type being quoted (statement vs. proposal) determines which pattern to use.
- -기로 하다
-자고 제안하다 only reports that a suggestion was made — it says nothing about whether it was accepted. -기로 하다 states that a decision or agreement was actually reached, often as the outcome after a proposal like this.