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Grammar Intermediate TOPIK II · Level 3–4 Intermediate Korean 1 · Unit 5

-어라

-어라 / -아라: The Blunt Command Ending

Plain haera command ending — do it (blunt).

Before this, make sure you know: -으세요 , -읍시다 , -아요 / -어요

How to form it

When Form Example
Verb stem with ㅏ/ㅗ -아라 가다 → 가라 / 오다 → 와라
Other verb stems -어라 먹다 → 먹어라 / 읽다 → 읽어라
하다 (hada) verbs -해라 공부하다 → 공부해라

-아라 / -어라 / -해라 is the plain command: do it. Friends use it. Angry people use it. Crowds chant it. Coaches bark it. 우리말샘 places the command reading in 해라할 자리.

It is not a cooler -으세요. Wrong listener → instant rudeness.

Forms

가라.                 Go.
와라.                 Come.
먹어라.               Eat.
읽어라.               Read it.
공부해라.             Study.
조용히 해라.          Be quiet.

Harmony matches the usual -아/어- split; 하다 compresses to 해라.

Sports-watching Korean (this unit’s theme) is full of short imperatives among friends:

봐 봐! / 봐라!
힘내라!
조금만 더 해라!

Command vs let’s vs question

Same plain level, three jobs:

FormJob
-어라You do it
-자Let’s do it
-니?Asking
먹어라.     Eat. (order)
먹자.       Let’s eat.
먹니?       Are you eating?

Polite ladder

NeedForm
Soft / respectful request-으세요 — 하세요, 드세요
Formal “let’s”-읍시다 — 합시다
Everyday polite-아요 / -어요 — 하세요? / 해 주세요
Plain blunt-어라
여기 앉아 주세요.     polite request
앉아라.               plain command

Exclamation look-alike

Dictionary entries also allow adjective exclamations with the same spelling family. If you meet 추워라! as a feeling burst, that is not “command the weather.” Keep this page’s focus on verb imperatives.

Ask: am I ordering someone I already speak plain Korean with? If yes, -어라. If you need politeness, climb to -으세요 or -아요 / -어요.

Do not confuse it with

-으세요

polite command — and the honorific present tense

-읍시다

let's — direct, and not for people senior to you

-아요 / -어요

polite informal verb and adjective sentence ending

-니?

casual question ending — intimate, gentle plain-style inquiry

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 우리 팀이 이겨서 정말 신나더라 (I was really excited that my team won.) — Intermediate Korean 1, Unit 5, on the theme of viewing and appreciation. These come with it:

-니? asking casually — to a close friend or someone younger -자 let's — the casual version of 읍시다 -는구나 realising something with feeling, out loud -더라 reporting what you saw yourself, and found worth mentioning -더군(요) the same as 더라, one step more polite -다가 while doing one thing, something else happened

Words used above

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-어라-eoraplain command after most stems
-아라-araplain command after ㅏ/ㅗ stems
해라haerado it! (from 하다)
명령myeongnyeongcommand / order
응원eungwoncheering / support

Quick check

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. Which is the polite command for strangers?

2. 가다 → plain command?

3. Is 먹어라 the same job as 먹자?

Common questions

When do Koreans actually say -어라?

Close friends, parents to kids, coaches, heated moments, stadium chants, some game UIs. Not to your professor on day one.

What about adjective -어라?

Dictionary also lists an exclamatory reading on adjectives. This page stays on the verb command sense the unit needs.

Is 해라 rude?

In the wrong seat, yes. In the right banmal seat, it is just the plain imperative.

How do I soften a request?

Move up to haeyo-che requests or euseyo. Do not ‘soften’ by smiling while saying 해라 to a stranger.