4 · Passive and causative
Causative suffixes: 이, 히, 리, 기, 우, 구, 추
the short causative
A syllable inside the verb turns "eat" into "feed" and "wear" into "dress someone" — a new verb for a fixed set.
Seven syllables make the short causative. Four are the same as for the passive: 이 (먹다 → 먹이다, 죽다 → 죽이다, 끓다 → 끓이다), 히 (입다 → 입히다, 앉다 → 앉히다, 눕다 → 눕히다), 리 (알다 → 알리다, 울다 → 울리다, 살다 → 살리다) and 기 (웃다 → 웃기다, 씻다 → 씻기다, 신다 → 신기다). Three belong to the causative alone: 우 (깨다 → 깨우다, 자다 → 재우다, 타다 → 태우다, 서다 → 세우다), 추 (늦다 → 늦추다, 낮다 → 낮추다, 맞다 → 맞추다) and the rare 구 (달다 "get hot" → 달구다 "heat up").
The causer becomes the subject, and the one who eats, sleeps or sits becomes the object: 아기가 자요 "the baby sleeps" → 엄마가 아기를 재워요 "the mother puts the baby to sleep". If the original verb already had an object, the person made to act takes 에게 or 한테: 아이에게 약을 먹였어요, "I gave the child the medicine".
Many of these verbs have moved away from the verb they came from and are best learnt as words of their own. 웃기다 is "to be funny"; 알리다 "to inform"; 살리다 "to save (a life)"; 태우다 "to give someone a lift" and also "to burn"; 맞추다 "to fit, to set (an alarm)"; 놀리다, from 놀다 "to play", is "to tease". Adjectives take them too: 높이다 "raise", 낮추다 "lower", 넓히다 "widen".
English has many verbs that work both ways — the car stopped, I stopped the car; the ice melted, I melted the ice. Korean makes you choose: 서다 and 세우다, 녹다 and 녹이다, 끓다 and 끓이다. Using the plain verb with an object (아기를 잤어요) is the commonest mistake, and it is not Korean.
The form
| suffix 이 | 먹다 → 먹이다 |
| suffix 히 | 입다 → 입히다 |
| suffix 리 | 알다 → 알리다 |
| suffix 기 | 웃다 → 웃기다 |
| suffix 우 | 깨다 → 깨우다, 자다 → 재우다 |
| suffix 추 | 늦다 → 늦추다, 맞다 → 맞추다 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The causer becomes the subject; the one who eats, wears or sleeps becomes the object.
엄마가 아기를 재웠어요.The mother put the baby to sleep.
If the original verb already has an object, the person made to act takes 에게 or 한테.
아이에게 약을 먹였어요.I gave the child the medicine.
Many causatives have meanings of their own and are learnt as separate verbs.
친구가 저를 공항까지 태워 줬어요.My friend gave me a lift to the airport.
Adjectives can take a causative suffix too: "make higher", "make lower".
소리를 좀 낮춰 주세요.Could you turn the volume down a little?
A closer look
English verbs that do both jobs
A large group of English verbs can be used with or without an object: stop, melt, boil, burn, empty, raise, sit. Korean pairs nearly all of them: 차가 섰어요 / 차를 세웠어요, 얼음이 녹았어요 / 얼음을 녹였어요, 물이 끓어요 / 물을 끓여요, 방이 비었어요 / 방을 비웠어요.
When you translate one of these verbs, ask first whether somebody is doing it to something. If yes, you need the causative; if the thing does it by itself, you need the plain verb. In these pairs the object particle 을/를 is the giveaway: it only goes with the causative.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is a 하다 verb
시키다 takes the place of 하다: 공부하다 → 공부시키다, 청소하다 → 청소시키다.
엄마가 동생한테 방 청소를 시켰어요.Mum made my younger brother clean his room.
하다 verbs have no suffix causative, and 시키다, "to order, to have done", fills the gap.
How to spot it
- 먹이다
- 입히다
- 알리다
- 웃기다
- 깨우다
- 태우다
- 낮추다
Example sentences
아빠가 아이에게 옷을 입혔어요.The dad dressed the child.
내일 아침 일곱 시에 꼭 깨워 주세요.Please make sure you wake me at seven tomorrow morning.
그 사람 이야기는 언제나 정말 웃겨요.That person's stories are always really funny.
결과가 나오면 바로 알려 드릴게요.I will let you know as soon as the results are out.
선생님이 학생들을 의자에 앉혔어요.The teacher sat the pupils down on the chairs.
출발 시간을 한 시간 늦췄어요.We put the departure time back by an hour.
8 more example sentences
물을 끓여서 차를 마셨어요.I boiled some water and had some tea.
주차장에 차를 세웠어요.I parked the car in the car park.
그 영화는 많은 사람을 울렸어요.That film made a lot of people cry.
아이를 침대에 눕혔어요.I laid the child on the bed.
여행 가기 전에 냉장고를 비웠어요.I emptied the fridge before going on holiday.
버터를 녹인 다음에 설탕을 넣으세요.Melt the butter, then add the sugar.
친구들이 제 머리 모양을 보고 놀렸어요.My friends teased me about my haircut.
알람을 여섯 시에 맞춰 놨어요.I have set the alarm for six.
Worth knowing (1)
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보이다: be seen, or show
보이다 is both the passive of 보다 ("be seen") and its causative ("show"). As a causative it nearly always comes with 주다: 사진 좀 보여 주세요, "please show me the photo".
여권 좀 보여 주시겠어요?Could I see your passport, please?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "wake" works both ways: "I woke up", "wake me up". Korean has two verbs: 깨다, to wake up yourself, and 깨우다, to wake somebody else.
The same few syllables, inside the verb, turn doing into making someone do.
Your turn
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