Requests for self

This pattern is used to report a request that someone made for their own benefit. It's a casual, spoken-form contraction of the full quoting pattern -달라고 해.

Meaning & Usage

Meaning: It translates to "(He/She/They) asked me to..." or "(He/She/They) want(s) me to..." The key is that the requested action is for the requester themselves.

Core Verb: The pattern is built on 달다, a special form of 주다 (to give) used when the speaker is the recipient. So, 달라고 하다 literally means "to say 'give it to me'".

Formation

It attaches to the -아/어 form of a verb stem, followed by 달래.

Verb Stem + -아/어 + 달래

돕다 (to help) → 도와 + 달래 → 도와 달래 (He asked me to help him.)

사다 (to buy) → 사 + 달래 → 사 달래 (She asked me to buy it for her.)

빌리다 (to lend/borrow) → 빌려 + 달래 → 빌려 달래 (He asked me to lend him...)

돈 빌려 달래. / 밥 사 달래. / 사진 찍어 달래. / 가르쳐 달래.

A common point of confusion for learners is the difference between -달래 and -주래. The choice depends entirely on who benefits from the requested action.

Use -달래 for the Requester

Use -달래 (-달라고 해) when someone asks you to do something for themselves.

Example Context: Your friend says to you, "나 좀 도와줘." (Help me.)

How you report it: 친구가 도와 달래. (My friend asked me to help him.)

Use -주래 for a Third Party

Use -주래 (-주라고 해) when someone asks you to do something for someone else (a third party).

Example Context: Minjun says to you, "수진이 좀 도와줘." (Help Sujin.)

How you report it: 민준이가 수진이 도와주래. (Minjun asked me to help Sujin.)

Think of it this way: 달다 is "give to me," while 주다 is "give to someone else." This logic extends directly to quoting requests.

수진이가 물 좀 달래. / 수진이가 동생 물 좀 주래. / 친구가 (자기를) 도와 달래. / 친구가 동생을 도와주래.