Learn Korean causative verbs — how to say you made or let someone do something using -이/히/리/기/우 suffixes and the -게 하다 pattern.
Causative verbs express that someone made, let, or had someone else do an action — "I fed the baby" (made the baby eat) rather than "I ate." Korean has two main ways to build this, similar in structure to the passive voice.
A set of common verbs form the causative by adding a suffix directly to the stem — notice these overlap with the passive suffixes, so context determines meaning.
| Base verb | Meaning | Causative form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 먹다 | to eat | 먹이다 | to feed (make eat) |
| 입다 | to wear | 입히다 | to dress (make wear) |
| 울다 | to cry | 울리다 | to make cry |
| 씻다 | to wash | 씻기다 | to bathe (make wash) |
| 자다 | to sleep | 재우다 | to put to sleep |
For most other verbs, attach -게 하다 to the verb stem to mean "make/let someone do."
| Base verb | Causative form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 가다 (to go) | 가게 하다 | to make/let someone go |
| 공부하다 (to study) | 공부하게 하다 | to make someone study |
| 웃다 (to laugh) | 웃게 하다 | to make someone laugh |
Since suffixes like -이, -히, -리, -기 form both passive and causative verbs, context and the sentence's subject/object structure decide the meaning: 먹이다 (feed) is causative because the subject actively causes the action, while 먹히다 (be eaten) is passive because the subject undergoes the action.
Which pattern should beginners learn first? -게 하다 — it works with nearly any verb and is far easier to apply consistently than memorizing individual causative suffixes.
Does 시키다 also mean "make someone do"? Yes — 시키다 (to order/have someone do) is a separate, very common causative-adjacent verb often attached to nouns: 공부시키다 (to make someone study), 청소시키다 (to make someone clean).
Causative and passive verbs often confuse learners because they look similar — Klovers' grammar-focused lessons drill the difference with real examples until it becomes second nature.