데려가다 (de-ryeo-ga-da, deryeogada) · 데려오다 (de-ryeo-o-da, deryeooda)
Both ‘데려가다’ and ‘데려오다’ mean to take someone along, but they differ clearly by the direction of movement.
One lane per word — no nested boxes, just the gist.
Means to take someone from the current location to another place.
When to use
Going to friend's house, Sending child to school, Accompanying to hospital
The nuance
Used when moving a person from the speaker’s or reference point’s location to a different place.
Means to bring someone from another place to the current location.
When to use
From friend's house to home, From school to home, From hospital to home
The nuance
Used when moving a person from another place to the speaker’s or reference point’s location.
엄마가 아이를 학교에 데려갔어요.
eom-ma-ga a-i-reul hak-gyo-e de-ryeo-gass-eo-yo., eom ma ga a i reul hak gyo e de ryeo gass eo yo.
‘데려가다’ is appropriate when moving from current location to another place (school).
엄마가 아이를 학교에서 데려갔어요.
eom-ma-ga a-i-reul hak-gyo-e-seo de-ryeo-gass-eo-yo., eom ma ga a i reul hak gyo e seo de ryeo gass eo yo.
‘데려가다’ requires the starting point to be the current location; ‘학교에서’ indicates starting elsewhere, so ‘데려왔다’ is correct.
아버지가 친구 집에서 저를 데려왔어요.
a-beo-ji-ga chin-gu jip-e-seo jeo-reul de-ryeo-wass-eo-yo., a beo ji ga chin gu jip e seo jeo reul de ryeo wass eo yo.
‘데려오다’ is appropriate when bringing someone from another place (friend's house) to the current location.
아버지가 친구 집에서 저를 데려갔어요.
a-beo-ji-ga chin-gu jip-e-seo jeo-reul de-ryeo-gass-eo-yo., a beo ji ga chin gu jip e seo jeo reul de ryeo gass eo yo.
‘데려가다’ requires starting from the current location; ‘친구 집에서’ indicates starting elsewhere.
선생님이 학생을 교실로 데려갔어요.
seon-saeng-nim-i hak-saeng-eul gyo-sil-ro de-ryeo-gass-eo-yo., seon saeng nim i hak saeng eul gyo sil ro de ryeo gass eo yo.
‘데려가다’ is used when moving from the reference point to another place (classroom).
선생님이 학생을 교실에서 데려왔어요.
seon-saeng-nim-i hak-saeng-eul gyo-sil-e-seo de-ryeo-wass-eo-yo., seon saeng nim i hak saeng eul gyo sil e seo de ryeo wass eo yo.
‘데려오다’ is used when bringing someone from another place (classroom) to the reference point.
나는 친구를 집으로 데려왔어요.
na-neun chin-gu-reul jip-eu-ro de-ryeo-wass-eo-yo., na neun chin gu reul jip eu ro de ryeo wass eo yo.
‘데려오다’ is appropriate when bringing someone from another place to the current location (home).
나는 친구를 집으로 데려갔어요.
na-neun chin-gu-reul jip-eu-ro de-ryeo-gass-eo-yo., na neun chin gu reul jip eu ro de ryeo gass eo yo.
‘데려가다’ is used when moving from current location to another place; ‘집으로’ implies moving to home, which is the current location.
Which word to use when bringing a friend to my home?
Correct expression for taking a child to school?
Is the sentence ‘친구가 나를 집으로 데려갔어요’ correct?
