Intermediate · Korean Grammar
Korean particles 에게, 한테 and 께: mark a recipient or source
Choose a written, conversational or respectful recipient marker, then distinguish who receives from where something came from.
Mark the person’s role before choosing the polite form
English “to” and “from” can point in different directions. Korean makes the person’s role visible with particles: someone may receive a message, or be the source from whom a message came.
This intermediate lesson compares 에게, 한테 and 께 for recipients, then adds 에게서, 한테서 and 께 in source patterns. You will keep the giver, receiver and object separate.
Formality is not only a particle choice. A respectful recipient may also affect the verb and the whole sentence style. Learn the role first, then make the register consistent.
Put the recipient after the marked noun
| Particle | Common setting | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 에게 | neutral, common in writing and speech | 학생에게 설명했어요. |
| 한테 | common in conversation | 친구한테 물어봤어요. |
| 께 | respectful recipient | 선생님께 말씀드렸어요. |
The NIKL learner entry lists 한테 as a synonym and 께 as a respectful form of 에게 in recipient uses. The noun before the particle is commonly a person or animal.
Do not translate the particle alone. 친구에게 can be “to a friend,” while a different verb may make the same marked person the source or affected party. Read the predicate.
Learn the marker with a recipient-taking action
| Korean | Working meaning | Recipient’s role |
|---|---|---|
| 민수에게 책을 줬어요. | I gave Minsu a book. | receives a thing |
| 지수한테 질문했어요. | I asked Jisu a question. | receives a question |
| 팀장님께 이메일을 보냈어요. | I sent the team leader an email. | receives a message |
| 아이에게 이야기를 읽어 줬어요. | I read a story to the child. | benefits from the action |
| 강아지한테 물을 줬어요. | I gave the dog water. | receives water |
The object still takes its own marker when needed: 책을, 이메일을, 물을. The recipient particle does not replace the object particle.
With a place or institution, Korean often uses 에: 회사에 이메일을 보냈어요. If you name a person inside it, 담당자에게 이메일을 보냈어요 makes that human recipient explicit.
Make respectful sentences as a whole
| Plain or neutral relationship | Respectful recipient | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 친구한테 말했어요. | 선생님께 말씀드렸어요. | 한테→께; 말하다→말씀드리다 |
| 동생에게 책을 줬어요. | 할머니께 책을 드렸어요. | 에게→께; 주다→드리다 |
| 친구에게 물어봤어요. | 교수님께 여쭤봤어요. | 에게→께; 묻다→여쭙다 |
께 respects the marked recipient. 드리다, 말씀드리다 and 여쭙다 can make the action respectful too. The exact choice depends on the relationship and the verb.
Do not attach every respectful word mechanically. First confirm who acts, who receives and who is being spoken to. A polite -요 ending addresses the listener; it is a separate layer from respect toward the sentence’s recipient.
Add 서 when the person is the source
| Recipient direction | Source direction | Working contrast |
|---|---|---|
| 친구에게 편지를 보냈어요. | 친구에게서 편지를 받았어요. | sent to · received from a friend |
| 민지한테 소식을 전했어요. | 민지한테서 소식을 들었어요. | told to · heard from Minji |
| 선생님께 질문을 드렸어요. | 선생님께 답을 들었어요. | gave a question to · heard an answer from teacher |
에게서 and 한테서 clearly mark a person as a source. With a respected person, 께 can mark the source too, so the verb and context carry the direction: 선생님께 받았어요 means “I received it from the teacher.”
로부터 is another source marker, often more formal or used with organizations: 학교로부터 안내를 받았어요. It is related, but this lesson’s main contrast is recipient versus personal source.
Do not confuse 께 with 께서
께 marks a respectful recipient or source. 께서 is a respectful subject marker. One syllable changes the person’s grammatical role.
| Sentence | Role of 선생님 | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 선생님께 질문했어요. | recipient | I asked the teacher a question. |
| 선생님께서 질문하셨어요. | subject | The teacher asked a question. |
| 선생님께 답을 들었어요. | source | I heard the answer from the teacher. |
Look at both the particle and predicate. In the second sentence, -시- in 질문하셨어요 also honors the subject. In the first, the speaker is the omitted subject and the teacher receives the question.
Track a file from sender to recipient and back
| Speaker | Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Joon | 자료를 누구에게 보냈어요? | To whom did you send the material? |
| Ara | 민지 씨한테 보냈어요. | I sent it to Minji. |
| Joon | 팀장님께도 보고했어요? | Did you also report it to the team leader? |
| Ara | 네, 팀장님께 이메일로 보고드렸어요. | Yes, I reported it to the team leader by email. |
| Joon | 수정 의견은 누구한테서 받았어요? | From whom did you receive the revision comments? |
| Ara | 민지 씨한테서 받았고, 최종 확인은 팀장님께 받았어요. | I received them from Minji, and received the final confirmation from the team leader. |
The first half asks where the material went; the second asks where comments came from. 에게/한테/께 is read with 보내다 and 보고드리다 as recipient marking. 한테서 and source-use 께 appear with 받다.
The names and workflow are invented. They demonstrate direction and register, not a universal office hierarchy.
Name the person’s role before translating the particle
- Choose a conversational recipient marker: 친구___ 물어봤어요.
- Rewrite 학생에게 설명했어요 with a respectful teacher recipient and an appropriate respectful verb.
- Say “I received a letter from my friend” with 에게서.
- What is the difference between 선생님께 and 선생님께서?
- Why does 책 still take 을 in 민수에게 책을 줬어요?
- Use 에 for an institution and 에게 for a person in two versions of “I sent an email.”
- In 선생님께 답을 들었어요, what makes the teacher the source?
- In the dialogue, who receives the material and who provides the revision comments?
Check the answers and explanations
- 친구한테 물어봤어요. 한테 is common in conversation; 에게 is also possible in a neutral sentence.
- 선생님께 말씀드렸어요 is one respectful model. The recipient particle and verb both change.
- 친구에게서 편지를 받았어요. The added 서 makes the friend’s source role explicit.
- 께 marks a respectful recipient or source; 께서 marks a respected subject.
- 에게 marks Minsu as recipient, while 을 marks 책 as the object that is given. The roles are separate.
- 회사에 이메일을 보냈어요; 담당자에게 이메일을 보냈어요. The second sentence names a human recipient.
- The predicate 들었어요 means the answer was heard from that person, and respectful 께 can mark a source as well as a recipient.
- Minji receives the material and provides the revision comments. The team leader also receives a report and provides final confirmation.
Draw three columns labelled sender, object and recipient. Place each noun from a practice sentence in one column before choosing the particle. Then reverse the event with 받다 or 듣다 and mark the source.
A small listening check
Pronunciation help: Track 께, 께서 and 한테서
Listen for 선생님께/친구한테서 in the target versus 친구한테/선생님께서 in the alternative.
Listen and choose
Play the sound, then select the Korean you heard. The answer buttons unlock after playback. This is one short practice item, not a pronunciation assessment.
Listen before choosing.
Dictionary roles and related honorific lessons
- Korean–English Learners’ Dictionary: 에게 — Official learner entry covers recipient, affected-party and source uses and lists 한테 and respectful 께.
- Korean–English Learners’ Dictionary: 받다 — The sentence frames show sources with 에게서 and 로부터.
- Korean–English Learners’ Dictionary — Check 주다, 드리다, 묻다, 여쭙다, 말하다 and 말씀드리다 in full examples.
- Korean With a Local: honorific roles — Separate respect for listener, subject and recipient before choosing forms.
- Korean With a Local: speech levels — Keep sentence ending style consistent with the setting and relationship.
Reviewed September 4, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.