Example Sentences#

1. 어느 날, 라사로와 맹인은 알모록스라는 마을에 도착했다.¹
   One day, Lazaro and the blind man arrived in a village called Almorox.
   • 알모록스 is the Korean transcription of ‘Almorox’, a place name.
   • -라는 is derived from the structure -(이)라고 하는, where 이다 is the copula ‘to be’, 라고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun. This structure effectively translates to ‘that is said to be’, implying ‘called’ or ‘named’.
2. 옛날에 장주라는 사람이 있었습니다.²
   Long ago, there was a person named Zhuang Zhou.
   • 장주 is a proper noun referring to Zhuang Zhou, a Chinese philosopher.
   • -라는 is derived from the structure -(이)라고 하는, where 이다 is the copula ‘to be’, 라고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun. This structure effectively translates to ‘that is said to be’, implying ‘called’ or ‘named’.
3. 고요한 마을에는 타로라는 성실한 돌을 다듬는 사람이 살고 있었습니다.³
   In a quiet village, there lived a diligent stone carver named Taro.
   • 타로 is a proper noun.
   • -라는 is derived from the structure -(이)라고 하는, where 이다 is the copula ‘to be’, 라고 is a quotative marker indicating reported speech or thoughts, 하다 means ‘to say’, and 는 is a present tense modifier that turns the preceding statement into a phrase describing the following noun. This structure effectively translates to ‘that is said to be’, implying ‘called’ or ‘named’.
4. 이것을 사물의 변화라고 합니다.²
   This is called the transformation of things.
   • 하다 means ‘to say’, and the structure -(이)라고 하다 literally means ‘to say that something is…’. In this context, it functions as a naming or labeling expression, naturally translating as ‘is called’ or ‘is referred to as’.
   • ㅂ니다 is a formal polite ending used in declarative sentences.