Causatives: -i/hi/ri/gi and -ge hada

Causative expressions mean 'to make or let someone do something'. Form them with the suffixes '-i/hi/ri/gi/u/gu/chu' or with the pattern '-ge hada'.

Suffix causatives

A causative suffix attaches to the base verb. Which suffix a given word takes is fixed, so it must be memorized per word.

엄마가 아기에게 밥을 먹였어요.

Eomma-ga agi-ege bab-eul meogyeosseoyo.

The mother fed the baby (made the baby eat).

선생님이 학생들을 의자에 앉혔어요.

Seonsaengnim-i haksaengdeul-eul uija-e anchyeosseoyo.

The teacher seated the students in chairs.

동생을 깨워서 학교에 보냈어요.

Dongsaeng-eul kkaewoseo hakgyo-e bonaesseoyo.

I woke up my sibling and sent them to school.

Causative with -ge hada

'-ge hada' attaches to almost any verb or adjective to mean 'to make someone or something become or do something'.

선생님이 학생들에게 책을 읽게 했어요.

Seonsaengnim-i haksaengdeul-ege chaeg-eul ikge haesseoyo.

The teacher made the students read the book.

그 소식이 모두를 기쁘게 했어요.

Geu sosig-i modu-reul gippeuge haesseoyo.

That news made everyone happy.

아이를 혼자 놀게 두지 마세요.

Ai-reul honja nolge duji maseyo.

Don't leave the child to play alone.

부모님이 저를 유학 보내 주셨어요.

Bumonim-i jeo-reul yuhak bonae jusyeosseoyo.

My parents sent me to study abroad.

Causative with -sikida

With Sino-Korean nouns, '-sikida' replaces '-hada' to mean 'cause to do'. Be careful, though: overusing it (for instance with '소개') sounds unnatural, and '소개하다' is often the better choice.

선생님이 아이들을 한 줄로 정렬시켰어요.

Seonsaengnim-i aideul-eul han jullo jeongnyeolsikyeosseoyo.

The teacher lined the children up in a row.

Base	Causative	Meaning
먹다 eat	먹이다	to feed
앉다 sit	앉히다	to seat
울다 cry	울리다	to make cry
웃다 laugh	웃기다	to make laugh
자다 sleep	재우다	to put to sleep
입다 wear	입히다	to dress
타다 ride	태우다	to give a ride

💡 Tip: Suffix causatives feel more direct and hands-on, while '-ge hada' feels more like making or letting someone do something.

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