-리-

From Middle Korean -이〮- (Yale: -Gí-), an allomorph of -기〮- (Yale: -kí-, causative/passive-deriving suffix) formed by lenition of the initial consonant /k-/ in intervocalic environments. Beyond Middle Korean, the causative is the original meaning as attested in Old Korean, and the passive is a later development from the causative, first attested in the written language some time between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries.[1][2]

/-ɣ-/ <-G-> had stopped the allomorphy of ㄹ (Yale: l) to [ɾ] intervocalically, preserving it as [l]. This continued to be the case even after /-ɣ-/ <-G-> was deleted in late Middle Korean, which meant that -이〮- (Yale: -Gí-) had effectively morphed to -리- (Yale: -li), as simple -이- (Yale: -i-) without some initial consonant would lead to a realization of ㄹ (Yale: l) as [ɾ].

리 • (-li-)

1. A verbal suffix deriving the stems of causative verbs, attaching to verb or adjective stems which end in ㄹ (l), or the irregular ㄷ (d) ~ ㄹ (l) stems. No longer productive.

   Synonyms: 이 (-i-), 히 (-hi-), 기 (-gi-), 우 (-u-), 구 (-gu-), 추 (-chu-)

   ‎풀다 (pulda, “to solve”) + ‎리 (-li-) → ‎풀리다 (pullida, “to make someone (e.g. a student) solve”)

   ‎날다 (nalda, “to fly”) + ‎리 (-li-) → ‎날리다 (nallida, “to fly, to cause to fly”)

   ‎닫다 (datda, “to run”) + ‎리 (-li-) → ‎달리다 (dallida, “to run; to make someone run”)

2. A verbal suffix deriving the stems of passive verbs, attaching to verb stems which end in ㄹ (l), or the irregular ㄷ (d) ~ ㄹ (l) stems. No longer productive.

   Synonyms: 이 (-i-), 히 (-hi-), 기 (-gi-)

   ‎듣다 (deutda, “to hear”) + ‎리 (-li-) → ‎들리다 (deullida, “to be heard”)

   ‎풀다 (pulda, “to solve”) + ‎리 (-li-) → ‎풀리다 (pullida, “to become solved”)

Although still very common in Korean, the causative/passive suffixes are no longer productive for forming new verbs. Verbs that do not already have a morphological causative or passive must employ auxiliaries:

• 게 하다 (-ge hada) for causatives
• 어지다 (-eojida) for passives

The causative/passive suffixes 이 (-i-), 히 (-hi-), 리 (-ri-), and 기 (-gi-) all stem from the same etymon, and are fairly complementary in distribution. 리 attaches to verb stems which end in ㄹ (l), or the irregular ㄷ (d) ~ ㄹ (l) stems.

리 • (-ri-)

1. For the prospective/future suffix, see the entry at 리 (-ri).