말했다
malhaetda
The English word 'said' is translated into Korean as 말했다 (malhaetda).
말했다 is used to indicate that someone mentioned something earlier. To connect a quoted statement to this verb, you use the particle –고, forming the pattern –고 말했다 (said that…). While 말했다 refers to the act of speaking, you might also use the verb 이야기하다 when you want to say 'discuss' or 'talk' in formal conversation.
Meaning: mentioned earlier (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 말했다 is composed of the noun 말, meaning speech or word and the verb 하다, meaning to do, in the past tense.
How does it change in a sentence?
Depending on the level of politeness required, you can use different forms of this verb: the polite form is 말했습니다 and the informal or casual form is 말했어.
How do you pronounce it?
malhaetda
When do people say it?
When you need someone to repeat or clarify what they have said, you can use the polite phrase 어떻게 말씀하셨습니까? to ask 'what did you say?' For a more direct 'What did you say?', you can use 뭐라고요? If you wish to ask someone to repeat themselves, you can say 다시 한 번 말해주세요, which means 'Please say it again'.
Did you know?
- In Korean, the root 말 for 'speech' is also the word for 'horse'. Depending on the context, a sentence about what someone 말했다 could be jokingly confused with something involving a horse.
- While 말했다 is used for reporting speech, the phrase 말이 되다 uses the same root to mean 'to make sense' or 'to be logical', literally meaning 'to become a word'.
- The word 말 is used in the idiom 말을 맞추다, which literally means 'to adjust the words' but actually means 'to synchronize stories' to deceive someone.
Examples in context
- 톰은 졸립지 않다고 말했다.Tom said that he's not sleepy.This sentence shows how to use 말했다 to report that Tom is not sleepy.Tatoeba #11104627 by intertime, translation #7179483 by CK
- 너는 그를 미워한다고 말했다.You said that you hated him.This sentence demonstrates using 말했다 to report that someone hated him.Tatoeba #11110743 by intertime, translation #3915610 by CH
- 그는 정말 화가 났다고 말했다.He said that he was really upset.This sentence illustrates using 말했다 to report that he was really upset.Tatoeba #13118776 by romzzo, translation #7395783 by CH
- 25 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Minjun and Subin are talking about a plan for the weekend.
- 민준 Min-jun이번 주말에 같이 가기로 말했다.ibeon jumare gachi gagiro malhaetda.I said we would go together this weekend.
- 수빈 Su-bin응, 나도 그렇게 기억하고 있어.eung, nado geureoke gieokhago isseo.Yes, I remember it that way too.
- 민준 Min-jun그럼 토요일 오후에 만날까?geureom toyoil ohu-e mannalkka?Then shall we meet Saturday afternoon?
- 수빈 Su-bin좋아, 그때 보자.joa, geuttae boja.Sounds good, see you then.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
