I heard / They say

This pattern is used to report something you've heard from another person or source. It's the Korean equivalent of saying "I heard..." or "They say...". It's a contraction of a longer quoting form, making it very common in casual conversation.

Formation

The ending changes based on the type of word and tense.

Action Verbs (Present): Stem + -ㄴ/는대

온다 → 온대 (They say he's coming)

공부한다 → 공부한대 (He says he's studying)

Descriptive Verbs (Adjectives): Stem + -대

맛있다 → 맛있대 (They say it's delicious)

힘들다 → 힘들대 (They say it's hard)

Nouns: Noun + -(이)래

공짜 (vowel ending) → 공짜래 (They say it's free)

학생 (consonant ending) → 학생이래 (I heard he's a student)

Past Tense: Verb/Adjective Stem + -았/었대

헤어졌다 → 헤어졌대 (I heard they broke up)

매진됐다 → 매진됐대 (They say it's sold out)

내일 쉰대. / 이거 공짜래. / 걔 헤어졌대. / 이 집 케이크 맛있대.

Understanding that -대 and -래 are contractions is key to mastering them. They come from the full indirect quotation forms ending in 고 해.

-대 = -다고 해

For verbs and adjectives, -대 is a shortened version of -다고 해.

온대 = 온다고 해

맛있대 = 맛있다고 해

헤어졌대 = 헤어졌다고 해

-래 = -(이)라고 해

For nouns, -래 is a shortened version of -(이)라고 해.

공짜래 = 공짜라고 해

사실이래 = 사실이라고 해

In everyday speech, the contracted forms (-대/-래) are far more common because they're quicker and sound more natural. The full forms (-다고 해/-(이)라고 해) can sound a bit more formal, deliberate, or be used for emphasis.

철수는 오늘 공부한대. (공부한다고 해요.) / 이거 공짜래요. (공짜라고 해요.) / 엄청 힘들대. (엄청 힘들다고 해요.)