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Grammar Advanced TOPIK II · Level 5–6 Advanced Korean 2 · final ending

-게3

-게③: Do It — The 하게체 Command

Ending: do it — the 하게체 command.

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

How to form it

When Form Example
Action verbs -게 하게 / 가게 / 먹게
As 하게체 order stem + 게 이제 가게. / 먼저 하게.

-게③ is the 하게체 command — do it.

Same letters as manner -게. Different job. PLAN: 각각 쓴다 — also separate from -게④ 환기.

Why this is hard

Beginners learn 맛있게. Advanced learners meet 이제 가게 and hear manner again. Wrong. Here -게 ends an order in the 하게 speech level.

What it does

이제 가게.
먼저 하게.
천천히 먹게.
이리 오게.

The ending is the command. Not “in a … way.”

Forms

Action stem + -게 as sentence end.

하다 → 하게.
가다 → 가게.
먹다 → 먹게.

When not to use it

Do not use this page for manner — -게.

Do not use it as 환기 “mind you” — that is -게④ (next slot).

Do not force 하게체 on every modern café order.

Neighbours — and why they differ

FormWhy it is not this slot
-게Manner / degree adverbial.
-게④ 환기Draws the point back — not a bare order.
-어라Plain command family.

Ask: am I giving a 하게체 order? If yes, -게③. If manner, stay adverbial.

Do not confuse it with

-게

turning an adjective into "how" something is done

-게

so that — the result you want

-어라

the blunt command — friends, anger, and sports crowds

Taught alongside this

On the jabi learning path, this appears in 종결어미 (final ending) — Advanced Korean 2, Unit 3, on the theme of final ending. These come with it:

-는구려 how…! — a mild, slightly archaic exclamation -는구먼 oh, so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact -그려 you know / indeed — particle stressing the point to the listener -으리라 I shall… / it will… — resolve, or speculation about the situation -으오 …o — the old polite ending of formal speech -으니4 how dare… / some…! — blaming or scolding with -으니 -거들랑2 you should know… — telling the listener something they do not know (종결) -게4 mind you / see here — drawing the point back into view -구려2 do it, won't you — a soft command -네1 plain statement — the 하게체 -네 that just reports -는구만 so it is… — noticing a newly realised fact (casual) -는가2 the question is… — raising the issue rather than asking casually -나2 …? — a bare question to yourself or someone close -던2 was it…? — asking about what you experienced before -던가1 was it…, from experience? — past question from what you lived -던가2 was it…, I wonder? — past question as a guess -라2 plain statement — -라 after 이다-type stems -으리오 how could it…? — rhetorical pushback, often with lament -소 …so — the old polite style of shopkeepers and elders

Words used above

Tap the speaker to hear it read aloud by your browser.

-게-gedo it (하게체 command)
하게체hage-chehage speech level
명령myeongnyeongcommand
종결jonggyeolsentence ending
부사busaadverb — other -게 job

Quick check

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

1. An older speaker tells them to leave now. It is a 하게체 order, not manner and not a reminder. Which line?

2. The order is to do it first. You are not describing how something tastes. Which line?

3. You want the 하게체 command to eat slowly. The slowness is not a manner adverb on a polite request. Which line?

Common questions

Speech level?

하게체 — older / half-formal address still heard in drama and some workplaces.

Vs -어라?

-어라 is plain/banmal command family. -게③ is 하게체 coat.

Vs 맛있게?

-게 adverbial is manner. Do not teach command with food-manner examples.

Modern default command?

Café talk often uses -세요 / -어. This page keeps the curriculum 하게 command.