Today, let’s learn how to say “bring” in Korean.
In English, you can say “bring a friend” and “bring a book” with the same verb. But in Korean, a friend is a living being with intention, and a book is not.
So you actually need different verbs depending on whether the object is alive or not. I’ll explain this step by step, in detail. Just follow along – trust me.
Earlier, I introduced the connective endings “-고” and “-아/-어.” You really need those to make sense of today’s verbs.
When you “bring” a friend (a living being)
Korean uses two types of verbs:
데려가다 / 데려오다
These are compound verbs. Compound verbs in Korean are usually connected with the ending ‘-아/-어.’
First, you take the verb ‘데리다’ and remove the ending ‘-다,’ so you’re left with the verb stem ‘데리-.’
Then you attach the connective ending ‘-어,’ which in its basic form becomes ‘데리어.’
‘데리어’ gets shortened to ‘데려.’
After that, you simply add ‘가다’ or ‘오다,’ depending on the direction of the movement.
That’s how you get ‘데려가다’ and ‘데려오다,’ and you can find them in the dictionary.
By the way, “데리다” means “to keep a living being close to your body.” So “데려오다” means “to move toward you while keeping a living being near the listener,” and “데려가다” means “to move forward while keeping a living being near you.”
데리고 가다 / 데리고 오다
Now, 데리고 가다 / 데리고 오다. These use the connective ending ‘-고,’ and you use them with a space.
You won’t find them in the dictionary as whole verbs, because they’re created using grammar.
When you “bring” a book (a non-living object)
Now we need the verb 가지다. So you use: 가져가다, 가져오다.
And you can also use the grammatically formed versions: 가지고 가다, 가지고 오다
“가지다” means “to have or hold something without life or intention in your hand or within your body.” Because of that, when translated into English, it can mean “have, possess, take, feel,” depending on what the object is. Surprised? It’s very different from the verb 있다, so remember that.
When you “bring” an elderly or respected person
Then you must use 모시다.
So the forms become: 모셔가다, 모셔오다, 모시고 가다, 모시고 오다.
That’s the explanation for today. But because “가지다” has so many meanings and uses, I’ll make a separate lesson just for that.
See you next time!