안녕하세요! Koreanstudyjunkie입니다. Today, I'll talk about Korean causatives. You may have noticed some verbs changing their form and taking on a completely new meaning. This concept may seem difficult, but it's actually really easy. Let's start - 시~작!
Causative is used when A causes/makes/lets/enables/permits/gets/has B (to) do something.
Here’s an example:
ACTIVE: 제가 울었어요 (I cried.)
CAUSATIVE: 민재는 저를 울렸어요. (Minjae made me cry.)
how to make causative form:
Verb stem + 게 하다. This works for all verbs, but not all verbs are commonly made causative with this construction.인부들이 길을 넓게 했다.The workers widened the road. (made the road get wider)친구들이 나를 못 자게 했어요. My friends didn’t let me sleep.
Action verb stem + 도록 하다. Same as above, but only works with action verbs.선생님께서 학생들에게 청소를 하도록 했다.The teacher made the students clean.
하다 verbs become 시키다.남동생한테 심부름을 시켰다.I made my younger brother run errands.
the last way to change verbs is by using the suffixes 이/히/리/기/우/구/추:
The suffixes 이/히/리/기/우/구/추 can be attached to some (not all) verbs (but for the verbs that they can be attached to, this is the most common way to make these verbs causative).
List Of Causative Words:
먹다 ㅡ먹이다 = to feed
보다 – 보이다 = to show, appear
밝다 – 밝히다 = light up, brighten up
앉다 ㅡ앉히다 = seat, assign
울다 ㅡ울리다 = make someone cry
알다 – 알리다 = let someone know
웃다 -웃기다 = make someone laugh
맡다 -맡기다 = to entrust
서다 ㅡ 세우다 = stand something up
낮다 ㅡ낮추다 = to lower, bring down
죽다 - 죽이다 = to kill someone
붙다 - 붙이다 = stick, attach
끓다 - 끓이다 = to boil, heat
읽다 - 읽히다 =make someone read
입다 - 입히다 = to dress (someone)
벗다 - 벗기다 = take off
맞다 - 맞히다 = give correct answer
살다 - 살리다 = let someone live, save sb
놀다 - 놀리다 = tease; let somebody play
씻다 - 씻기다 = wash someone
깨다 - 깨우다 = wake someone up
자다 - 재우다 = put someone to sleep
타다 - 태우다 = to make burn, make someone ride
A Few Examples:
앉다 ㅡ앉히다
그녀는 그를 컴퓨터 앞에 앉혔다
She made[had] him sit in front of the computer.
울다 ㅡ울리다
누가 우리 딸을 울렸어?
Who made my daughter cry?
웃다 -웃기다
그는 농담으로 모두를 웃겼다.
He made everyone laugh with his jokes.
맡다 -맡기다
돈을 은행에 맡기다.
deposit money with a bank.
낮다 ㅡ낮추다
남자 배우는 키가 작은 여자 배우를 위해 무릎을 낮춰서 촬영을 했다.
The male actor filmed with his knees lowered for the short female actor.
벗다 - 벗기다
제가 아기 신발을 벗겼어요.
I took off the baby’s shoes.
Plain Verbs:
먹다 = to eat
보다 = to see
밝다 = to be bright
앉다 = to sit
울다 = to cry
알다 = to know
웃다 = to laugh
맡다 = to take care of
서다 = to stand
낮다 = low
죽다 = to die
붙다 = stick to
끓다 = to boil
읽다 = to read
입다 = to wear
벗다 = to remove
맞다 = to be correct
살다 = to live
놀다 = to play
씻다 = to wash
깨다 = to wake up
자다 = to sleep
타다 = to burn; to ride
That's the end of this post! We have plenty more lessons like this here. If you want to see the original post I made on Instagram here it is.
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