-더라고(요)
deorago(yo)
Grammar · 2 senses
who/where/when was it again?
Examples
우리가 처음으로 언제 만났더라?
When did we first meet again?
그 가수 이름 뭐더라?
What's that singer's name again?
내가 어제 어디 갔더라?
Hmm, where did I go yesterday?
When you'd hear it
This is common in spoken Korean when someone pauses to retrieve a past detail, either thinking aloud or checking it with a familiar listener. The 요 ending makes it polite enough for everyday conversation, while the plain form is casual and common among friends.
What learners get wrong
Do not confuse this with -더라, as in 뭐더라?; -더라고(요) often appears with a past form such as 뭐였더라고요? to sound more politely conversational. The plain -더라? is shorter and more casual for thinking aloud or asking someone familiar.
It was, it seemed
Examples
일본에 도착하니까 눈이 왔더라고요.
When I arrived in Japan, it was snowing.
이 제품이 요즘 청소년들에게 정말 인기가 많더라고요.
This product is really popular among young people these days.
민주가 축구 되게 잘하더라.
Minjoo is seriously good at soccer.
When you'd hear it
This is common in conversation when reporting something the speaker personally noticed or discovered, especially in stories and casual observations. The 요 form is polite and widely used with coworkers or acquaintances; without 요, it is casual and often heard among friends or in dramas.
What learners get wrong
Unlike -던, which recalls an ongoing or repeated past situation, -더라고(요) presents a firsthand observation or discovery. It can describe something noticed directly, such as 눈이 왔더라고요 or 잘하더라.
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