Meaning
To create or bring about difficulties or trouble.
Cultural Background
In Korean companies, 'causing a problem' is often seen as a failure of the entire team, not just the individual. This leads to a culture of collective responsibility. Students who 'cause problems' are often referred to as 'problem children' (문제아), a label that is quite heavy and can follow a student through their school career. On Korean social media (SNS), influencers who 'cause problems' (e.g., scandals) often post 'apology videos' (사과 영상) starting with '문제를 일으켜 물의를 빚은 점 사과드립니다.' Korea's fast-paced 'Pali-pali' culture means that technical problems are expected to be fixed immediately. '문제를 일으키다' in tech often triggers an emergency response.
Use with '자꾸' (repeatedly)
It sounds very natural to say '자꾸 문제를 일으키다' when someone is a habitual troublemaker.
Watch the Particle
Never say '문제가 일으키다'. It's a common mistake that changes the meaning to 'The problem is raising (something else).'
Meaning
To create or bring about difficulties or trouble.
Use with '자꾸' (repeatedly)
It sounds very natural to say '자꾸 문제를 일으키다' when someone is a habitual troublemaker.
Watch the Particle
Never say '문제가 일으키다'. It's a common mistake that changes the meaning to 'The problem is raising (something else).'
Formal Writing
In essays, replace '일으키다' with '야기하다' (惹起-) to sound more academic.
Test Yourself
Fill in the blank with the correct particle and verb form.
그의 무책임한 행동이 팀원들 사이에 큰 문제___ ________. (Past tense)
'문제' is the object, so it needs '를'. The verb must be the causative '일으켰다'.
Which sentence is the most natural for a formal news report?
Choose the best option:
'문제를 일으키고 있습니다' is the standard formal register for news.
Complete the dialogue naturally.
가: 어제 파티에서 왜 그렇게 일찍 집에 갔어? 나: 내 친구가 자꾸 ________________ 싶지 않아서 그냥 데리고 나왔어.
The context implies wanting to avoid trouble caused by a friend.
Match the phrase to the situation.
Match '사고를 치다' vs '문제를 일으키다'
Both are correct, but '사고를 치다' is more informal and '문제를 일으키다' is more general/formal.
🎉 Score: /4
Visual Learning Aids
Practice Bank
4 exercises그의 무책임한 행동이 팀원들 사이에 큰 문제___ ________. (Past tense)
'문제' is the object, so it needs '를'. The verb must be the causative '일으켰다'.
Choose the best option:
'문제를 일으키고 있습니다' is the standard formal register for news.
가: 어제 파티에서 왜 그렇게 일찍 집에 갔어? 나: 내 친구가 자꾸 ________________ 싶지 않아서 그냥 데리고 나왔어.
The context implies wanting to avoid trouble caused by a friend.
Match '사고를 치다' vs '문제를 일으키다'
Both are correct, but '사고를 치다' is more informal and '문제를 일으키다' is more general/formal.
🎉 Score: /4
Frequently Asked Questions
10 questionsNo, '문제를 일으키다' is almost exclusively used for negative situations or technical failures.
'사고를 치다' is slangy and informal, often used for sudden mistakes. '문제를 일으키다' is more general and can be used in formal reports.
Yes, it is very common to say a machine or software is '일으키다' problems.
You can say '문제를 일으켜서 죄송합니다.'
Yes, but it needs an object like '먼지' (dust), '바람' (wind), or '혁명' (revolution).
It's not grammatically wrong, but it sounds like a direct translation from English. '일으키다' is much more natural.
Not necessarily. It can be accidental, but it still places the cause on that person or thing.
'문제를 해결하다' (to solve a problem) is the most common opposite.
Yes, for example, when talking about how you handled a situation where someone else caused a problem.
Very frequently, especially for social scandals or economic issues.
Related Phrases
사고를 치다
informalTo mess up or get into trouble.
말썽을 부리다
similarTo behave badly or be naughty.
문제를 야기하다
specialized formTo give rise to a problem.
문제를 해결하다
contrastTo solve a problem.
논란을 일으키다
specialized formTo cause controversy.
