에게 / 한테
to, for — a person or an animal
The version of 에 reserved for living things. Same meaning either way; 한테 belongs to speech and 에게 to writing.
Build it
Pick a recipient
When to use it
Korean splits its “to” by whether the target is alive. Places, companies, and objects take 에; people and animals take 에게 or 한테. Send a parcel to Seoul and it is 서울에; send it to your sister and it is 동생한테.
The two forms are interchangeable in meaning. 한테 is what you hear in conversation; 에게 is what you read in books, notices, and formal writing. Neither is more polite than the other — politeness toward the recipient is handled by 께, the honorific form, which pairs with verbs like 드리다 and 여쭤보다.
Beyond giving and sending, it marks the person a feeling or an effect lands on: 저한테 중요해요 (it matters to me), 동생한테 잘해 주세요 (be good to my brother).
How to attach it
| Register | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Speech | 한테 | 친구한테 줬어요 |
| Writing, formal | 에게 | 학생에게 알렸습니다 |
| Honorific | 께 | 선생님께 드렸어요 |
| Source, not target | 한테서 / 에게서 | 친구한테서 들었어요 |
| Animals | same as people | 고양이한테 밥을 줬어요 |
| Places take | 에 instead | 회사에 보냈어요 — not 회사한테 |
In use
동생한테 생일 선물을 줬어요.
I gave my younger sibling a birthday present.
친구한테 매일 전화해요.
I call my friend every day.
선생님께 이메일을 보냈습니다.
I sent an email to the teacher.
그 이야기는 저한테 정말 중요해요.
That story really matters to me.
고양이한테 물을 줬어요?
Did you give the cat some water?
이 편지를 부모님께 전해 주세요.
Please pass this letter to my parents.
Compared with
에
The split is grammatical, not stylistic. Living recipients take 에게 or 한테; everything else takes 에. A company is a place, so it takes 에 even though people work there.
친구한테 보냈어요. / 회사에 보냈어요.
께
The honorific counterpart. Use it for teachers, parents, bosses, and elders, and pair it with humble verbs: 드리다 rather than 주다, 여쭤보다 rather than 물어보다.
선생님께 드렸어요. / 친구한테 줬어요.
한테서 / 에게서
Adding 서 reverses the direction: the person becomes the source rather than the target. In casual speech 한테 alone often covers both, and context decides.
친구한테 말했어요. (I told my friend) / 친구한테서 들었어요. (I heard it from my friend)
Watch out
회사한테 서류를 보냈어요.
회사에 서류를 보냈어요.
An organisation counts as a place, not a person. Use 에 for companies, schools, and offices.
선생님한테 질문을 드렸어요.
선생님께 질문을 드렸어요.
Once you reach for an honorific verb like 드리다, the particle has to match. 께 goes with 드리다, 여쭤보다, and 계시다.
친구한테 선물을 받았어요.
친구한테서 선물을 받았어요.
With 받다 the friend is the source, so 한테서 is the precise choice. The shorter 한테 is common in casual speech but ambiguous in writing.
Next
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