께
to — honorific
The respectful form of 에게 / 한테. Marks the person receiving, when that person outranks you — and it obliges the verb to match.
Build it
Pick a recipient
When to use it
께 replaces 에게 and 한테 when the recipient is a teacher, a parent, a grandparent, a boss, or a client. It never changes shape and never attaches to a place — a company still takes 에.
Using it commits the verb. Honorifics in Korean work as a set, so 께 pairs with the humble verbs: 주다 becomes 드리다, 묻다 becomes 여쭤보다, 말하다 becomes 말씀드리다. 선생님께 여쭤봤어요.
There is one point that trips up almost everyone. 께 marks the person receiving; 께서 marks the person acting. One syllable separates them, and they point in opposite directions. 께 also covers the source, since there is no honorific form of 한테서: 선생님께 배웠어요.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Honorific recipient | 께 | 선생님께 드렸어요 |
| Honorific source | 께 — same form | 부모님께 배웠어요 |
| Verb must match | 드리다, 여쭤보다 | 말씀드렸어요 |
| Ordinary people take | 에게 / 한테 | 친구한테 줬어요 |
| Places take | 에 | 회사에 보냈어요 |
| Acting, not receiving | 께서 | 선생님께서 주셨어요 |
In use
선생님께 이메일을 보냈습니다.
I sent an email to my teacher.
부모님께 선물을 드렸어요.
I gave my parents a present.
교수님께 질문을 여쭤봤어요.
I asked the professor a question.
할머니께 편지를 썼어요.
I wrote a letter to my grandmother.
한국어는 선생님께 배웠어요.
I learned Korean from my teacher.
사장님께 말씀드리겠습니다.
I’ll speak to the president about it.
Compared with
에게 / 한테
Same grammatical role, different level of respect. Reserve 께 for people you would address with a title.
친구한테 줬어요. / 선생님께 드렸어요.
께서
께서 makes the honoured person the subject; 께 makes them the recipient. Check who is doing and who is receiving before choosing.
선생님께서 주셨어요. (the teacher gave) / 선생님께 드렸어요. (I gave to the teacher)
한테서 / 에게서
There is no honorific ending in 서. When the source deserves respect, 께 handles both directions and the verb settles the meaning.
친구한테서 들었어요. / 선생님께 들었어요.
Watch out
선생님께 책을 줬어요.
선생님께 책을 드렸어요.
Once 께 marks the recipient, the verb has to rise with it. 주다 becomes 드리다, and the mismatch is more noticeable than using no honorific at all.
친구께 선물을 줬어요.
친구한테 선물을 줬어요.
께 is for people you honour. Applying it to a friend sounds strange, not extra polite.
선생님께서 책을 드렸어요.
선생님께 책을 드렸어요.
드리다 means the speaker gives upward, so the teacher must be the recipient. 께서 would put the teacher in the giving role and contradict the verb.
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