Lesson 34: (이)라서
In the previous lesson, you learned how to use the ending 아/어/여서 to say ‘therefore/so‘ in Korean. In this lesson, you will learn how to use (이)라서, which is another ending used to say ‘therefore/so‘. The main difference between these two endings is that 아/어/여서 is used with verbs and adjectives whereas (이)라서 is used with nouns. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to make sentences like “It’s my holiday, so I’m traveling.“, “Tomorrow is my friend’s birthday, so I need to buy a present.“
Lesson 34: (이)라서
(이)라서 is an ending that means ‘so’ or ‘therefore’. It is used to connect two clauses in the same sentence. (이)라서 is attached only to the noun. In order to link 2 clauses with this ending, first, you need to find the noun with 예요/이에요 and drop 예요/이에요. Then attach (이)라서 to the noun. Let’s look at some examples.
휴가예요. = It’s my holiday.
여행하고 있어요. = I’m traveling.
휴가라서 여행하고 있어요. = It’s my holiday, so I’m traveling.
내일 친구 생일이에요. = Tomorrow is my friend’s birthday.
선물을 사야 돼요. = I need to buy a present.
내일 친구 생일이라서 선물을 사야 돼요. = Tomorrow is my friend’s birthday, so I need to buy a present.
*In spoken language, (이)라서 is often shortened to (이)라 without 서. For example, 휴가라서 여행하고 있어요. (It’s my holiday, so I’m traveling) becomes 휴가라 여행하고 있어요.
Conjugation Rules
| Conjugation Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| Noun Ending In Consonant + 이라서 | 생일 (birthday) → 생일이라서 |
| Noun Ending In Vowel + 라서 | 휴가 (holiday) → 휴가라서 |
(이)라서 Vs 아/어/여서
Both (이)라서 and 아/어/여서 mean ‘so’ or ‘therefore’ and are used to connect two clauses in the same sentence. The difference between these two is that (이)라서 is used with nouns only, whereas 아/어/여서 is used with verbs and adjectives. To help you understand what we mean, check out the following two sentences:
- 오늘 친구 생일이라서 케이크를 샀어요. = Today is my friend’s birthday, so I bought a cake.
- 오늘 친구가 생일 파티를 해서 케이크를 샀어요. = Today my friend is having a birthday party, so I bought a cake.
As you can see, in the first sentence 이라서 is attached to the noun 생일 (birthday) and in the second sentence, 여서 is attached to the verb 하다 (to do).
Example Sentences With (이)라서
왜 케이크를 샀어요? = Why did you buy a cake?
오늘 친구 생일이라서 케이크를 샀어요. = Today is my friend’s birthday, so I bought a cake.
이 백화점에 왜 사람이 많아요? = Why are there a lot of people in this department store?
세일이라서 사람이 많아요. = There’s a sale, so there are a lot of people.
요즘 바빠요? = Are you busy these days?
아니요, 휴가라서 안 바빠요. = It’s my vacation, so I’m not busy.