Causatives in Korean: Authority, Permission, and Agency

Core examples: 먹이다; 입히다; 앉히다; 재우다; 일을 시키다; 공부하게 하다; 보내다/보내게 하다.

“Make someone do” is too narrow

Korean causatives are often introduced as “make someone do something.” That works for some examples. But causatives can also mean let, have, cause, feed, dress, seat, put to sleep, train, assign work, or arrange for an action to happen.

• 먹이다: feed, make/let someone eat.
• 입히다: dress someone, put clothes on someone.
• 앉히다: seat someone.
• 재우다: put someone to sleep.
• 공부하게 하다: have/make/let someone study depending on context.
• 일을 시키다: make someone work or assign work.

The key is agency. Who causes the event? Who performs the action? How much control does each participant have? Is the causation physical, social, institutional, permissive, or coercive?

Korean causatives are grammar of agency, not just grammar of force.

Lexical causatives

Many causatives are formed with suffixes such as 이, 히, 리, 기, 우, 구, 추, though the exact form must be learned with each verb:

• 먹다 → 먹이다
• 입다 → 입히다
• 앉다 → 앉히다
• 자다 → 재우다
• 낮다 → 낮추다

These forms often feel like single verbs, not transparent combinations. 입히다 is not only “cause to wear.” In ordinary usage, it can mean to dress a child, put clothes on someone, or clothe someone.

Lexical causatives may be physical and direct:

• 엄마가 아이에게 옷을 입혔어요.
• 아이를 의자에 앉혔어요.
• 아기를 재웠어요.

시키다 and institutional causation

시키다 is productive and common:

• 일을 시키다
• 공부를 시키다
• 배달을 시키다
• 청소를 시키다

It often implies assignment, ordering, making someone do something, or arranging a service. The social meaning depends heavily on relationship. 부모가 아이에게 공부를 시키다 and 상사가 직원에게 일을 시키다 involve authority. 음식을 시키다 means ordering food, not forcing food to do something.

Because 시키다 can sound forceful with people, learners should be careful in polite contexts. 일을 부탁하다, 맡기다, 요청하다, 하게 하다, or 해 달라고 하다 may fit better depending on tone.

하게 하다 separates cause and action

하게 하다 is a useful analytic causative:

• 학생들이 발표하게 했어요.
• 아이가 스스로 선택하게 했어요.
• 다시 확인하게 하겠습니다.

It often leaves room for the causee as an agent who performs the action. It can mean make, have, allow, or arrange, depending on context. Permission and compulsion are not always encoded by the form alone. The surrounding situation tells you whether the causer forced, allowed, encouraged, required, or arranged the action.

Causative meaning depends on social power

The same structure can sound different depending on participants:

• 선생님이 학생에게 읽게 했어요. The teacher had the student read.
• 부모가 아이를 재웠어요. The parent put the child to sleep.
• 회사가 직원들에게 야근을 시켰어요. The company made employees work overtime.
• 손님이 음식을 시켰어요. The customer ordered food.

A causative sentence is often also a social sentence. It shows who has authority, responsibility, permission, or care.

A causative-role routine

1. Identify the causer: who causes or arranges the event?
2. Identify the causee: who performs or undergoes the action?
3. Identify the base action.
4. Decide whether the causation is physical, social, institutional, permissive, or service-related.
5. Choose the English translation only after judging force: make, let, have, cause, put, feed, assign, order.
6. Check whether 시키다 sounds too forceful for the relationship.

Technical-review guardrail: causative form does not determine social force by itself

A causative can mean physical assistance, permission, assignment, institutional compulsion, service ordering, or arranged action. 시키다 may sound forceful with people but neutral in service contexts such as food ordering. The upgraded examples prefer 일을 시키다 over a bare compressed form and ask learners to identify causer, causee, action, authority, and relationship.

Mini practice: what kind of causation?

Suggested functions:

1. Role slots: causer, causee, action, object, result.
2. Form label: lexical causative, 시키다, 하게 하다.
3. Force slider: permission, arrangement, instruction, compulsion, physical causation.
4. Relationship tag: parent-child, teacher-student, manager-employee, customer-service.
5. Translation options: make, let, have, cause, feed, seat, order.
6. Politeness warning: flags overly forceful 시키다 in requests.

Final rule

Do not translate every Korean causative as “make.”

Find the causer, causee, action, and social force. Korean causatives are about agency and responsibility as much as grammar.