I found myself completely unable to explain the -하다고 suffix to someone. For example,
행복하다고 느낍니까?
which means, "Do you feel that you're happy?"
Actually, no, there's a nuance there. I think it translates more like, "Would you say that you feel happy?" Because, let's take it back: it could have just been
행복해요?
which means, "Are you happy?" But we're trying to add emphasis (to something, I don't know what).
What I know is
- 행복 means "happiness."
- 행복하다 means "I am / You are / [Subject is] happy."
- 행복하다고 means ???. (The "고" here is not the conjunctive "고"!)
It's almost as if the "고" here actually "quotes" its preceding phrase as a hypothetical, so that the literal translation of the original is:
Is "I am happy" a thing that you feel?
I'd appreciate a cleaner and more formal understanding of this construction. Thank you.
