에게 한테 께 Indirect Object Particles: Meaning, Rules and Examples

What you'll learn

• Attach 에게, 한테 or 께 to a person or animal noun to mark the receiver.
• Choose between the written, spoken and honorific forms.
• Tell these particles apart from 에, which marks things and places.
• Fix the three most common errors with receiver particles.

Before you start: you should know the object particle 을/를 and the difference between 에 vs 에서. Time: about 25 minutes.

What Do the 에게 한테 께 Indirect Object Particles Mean?

The 에게 한테 께 indirect object particles all answer the question "to whom?" An indirect object is the receiver of an action. In "I gave a gift to my friend", the gift is the direct object and my friend is the indirect object. In Korean, the gift takes 을/를 and the friend takes 에게, 한테 or 께.

Register means the level of politeness and formality in a word. The three particles have the same grammar. They differ only in the social tone. 한테 sounds natural between friends. 께 shows respect to the receiver.

A First Example

Listen to the two sentences at normal speed, then slowly.

1. 친구에게 선물을 줬어요. (chinguege seonmureul jwosseoyo) "I gave a present to my friend."

Pronunciation: [친구에게 선무를 줘써요]. The final ㄹ of 물 links to the next syllable, so 선물을 sounds like 선무를. The verb 줬어요 is the short form of 주었어요.

2. 할머니께 전화했어요. (halmeonikke jeonhwahaesseoyo) "I called my grandmother."

Pronunciation: [할머니께 전화해써요]. The sentence is polite and respectful because 께 marks the receiver as someone you honour. In careful speech, many speakers use the honorific verb 전화드렸어요 here.

In sentence 2, 전화하다 has no direct object, only a receiver. The particle for the receiver is still needed. The next section shows how to attach it.

How Do You Form 에게, 한테 and 께?

Add the particle straight after a person or animal noun. The spelling never changes, whether the noun ends in a consonant or a vowel. There is no pair of forms like 은/는.

For polite speech to a respected person, 께 is the better choice, and the table shows it only for such receivers. The 에게 and 한테 forms next to them are grammatical, but they sound less respectful to a teacher or a grandparent.

With pronouns. The particles join pronouns in the same way: 나한테, 너한테, 저한테. With 에게, three pronouns have shortened forms that are common in writing: 나에게 becomes 내게, 저에게 becomes 제게, and 너에게 becomes 네게. In speech, 한테 avoids these changes, so 나한테 and 저한테 stay the same.

With plurals and other particles. 친구들에게 means "to the friends". The particles 는, 도 and 만 can follow: 친구에게는 (to my friend, as for), 친구한테도 (to my friend too), 친구에게만 (only to my friend).

How Do You Say "I Gave My Friend a Gift"?

To say "I gave my friend a gift", mark the receiver with a receiver particle, the gift with 을/를, and finish with a verb of giving. Follow the six steps.

1. Find the three parts. The giver is "I" (can be dropped), the receiver is the friend (친구), and the thing given is the gift (선물).
2. Check who the receiver is. A friend is alive and not someone to honour, so 에게 or 한테 fits. A grandparent would take 께.
3. Choose the register. In writing, use 에게. In conversation, use 한테.
4. Mark the gift. 선물 ends in a consonant, so the object particle is 을: 선물을.
5. Choose the verb. 주다 (give) in the past polite form is 줬어요.
6. Put the parts in order. Korean usually places the receiver first, then the gift, then the verb: 친구에게 선물을 줬어요.

You'll know it worked when the sentence has three marked parts: a receiver with 에게, 한테 or 께, an object with 을/를, and a verb that ends the sentence. Common mistake at this step: marking the receiver with 을/를 because English has no particle. 친구를 선물을 줬어요 is not a correct sentence.

How Do 에게, 한테 and 께 Differ?

에게, 한테 and 께 differ in register, in the verbs that go with them, and in how common they are in speech. The table sets them side by side.

Honorific verbs travel with 께. When the receiver deserves respect, Korean often swaps the verb for an honorific one. The plain verb 주다 (give) becomes 드리다, and 말하다 (say) becomes 말씀드리다. So 할머니께 선물을 드렸어요 is the more respectful and more natural sentence for "I gave my grandmother a gift". The honorific suffix -(으)시- raises the person who does an action, and the particle 께서 marks an honoured person as the subject. Together, 선생님께서 학생에게 주셨어요 means "The teacher gave it to the student": 께서 and 주셨어요 honour the giver, and 에게 marks the student as the plain receiver.

Next, see which verbs trigger these particles.

Which Verbs Take 에게, 한테 and 께?

Verbs with a receiving sense take these particles. These are verbs where something moves from one person to another: things, words, messages, knowledge.

Two notes apply to the table. First, many verbs here also take a direct object with 을/를, but a few, such as 전화하다 and 연락하다, take only a receiver. Second, the verb 묻다 (ask) forms 물어보다, and its honorific is 여쭙다 or 여쭈다: 선생님께 여쭤봤어요 ("I asked the teacher"). When in doubt about a verb, test it with the question "to whom?" If the question makes sense, the receiver particle fits. Now see where the particles should not be used.

When Do You Use Them, and When Not?

Use 에게, 한테 or 께 when the receiver is a person or an animal. Skip them in the following cases.

• Places and organizations. A school, a company, a bank and a city are not alive in this test. They take 에: 회사에 전화했어요, 학교에 편지를 보냈어요. The lesson on 에게 vs 에 is a full guide to this contrast.
• Things. Plants and objects take 에: 꽃에 물을 줘요 ("I water the flowers").
• A source rather than a receiver. When the person is the source, as in "I got a gift from my friend", use 에게서 or 한테서. See 에게서 한테서 from a person for the details.
• A subject. When a person does the action, they take 이/가, 은/는, or for honoured people 께서. The receiver particles never mark the subject.

Animals and pets. 강아지에게 밥을 줬어요 ("I fed the puppy") is correct, because an animal is alive. The choice between 에게 and 한테 follows the same register rule as for people: 강아지한테 밥을 줬어요 in conversation.

Dropping the particle. In fast casual speech the particle is sometimes dropped when the meaning stays clear, as in 나 줘 ("Give it to me"). It is safer to keep the particle in writing and when you are unsure.

Honest limit of this lesson: it covers the standard A1 uses. Other particles for the person spoken to, such as 더러 and 보고 in spoken sentences like 친구보고 말했어요 ("I told my friend"), are not covered here.

With the boundaries drawn, the next section lists the errors that appear most often.

Common Mistakes with 에게 한테 께

Five mistakes cover most errors. Each follows the pattern "learners often assume X, but actually Y, because Z."

1. Using 에게 with a place or an organization. Learners often write 회사에게 전화했어요. Actually a company is treated as a thing, so it takes 에: 회사에 전화했어요.
2. Using 한테 for someone you must respect. Learners often write 선생님한테 질문했어요 in a formal setting. Actually 한테 is informal. Use 선생님께 질문했어요 or, for extra care, 선생님께 여쭤봤어요.
3. Marking the receiver with 을/를. Learners often write 친구를 선물을 줬어요, copying English word order. Actually the receiver takes 에게/한테/께, and only the thing given takes 을/를: 친구에게 선물을 줬어요.
4. Using 께 for a friend. Learners often write 친구께 선물을 줬어요 to sound polite. Actually 께 is reserved for people above you in age or position, so a friend takes 에게 or 한테.
5. Mixing the receiver with the source. Learners often write 친구에게 선물을 받았어요 and think it means "I gave a gift". Actually it describes receiving a gift, and the more exact form is 친구에게서 선물을 받았어요 or 친구한테서 선물을 받았어요.

If you want to check the roles in your own sentences, run them through the particle highlighter in the practice set.

Practice and Answers

Do all four items before you check the answers. Each answer has audio, normal and slow.

1. Choose the form. 할아버지(에게/한테/께) 책을 드렸어요. ("I gave my grandfather a book.")
2. Fix the error. 회사에게 전화했어요. (The speaker wants to say "I called the company".)
3. Translate. "I sent my friend a text message." Use casual speech, with 한테 and the verb 보내다.
4. Write your own. Write one sentence about writing or giving something to a family member, using 에게.

Answer Key

1. 할아버지께 책을 드렸어요. (harabeojikke chaegeul deuryeosseoyo) The receiver is a grandfather, so use 께 with the honorific verb 드리다. Pronounced [하라버지께 채글 드려써요].

2. 회사에 전화했어요. (hoesae jeonhwahaesseoyo) A company is not a person or an animal, so it takes 에. Pronounced [회사에 전화해써요].

3. 친구한테 문자를 보냈어요. (chinguhante munjareul bonaesseoyo) The friend is the receiver, 한테 is the spoken form, and 문자 takes 를. Pronounced [친구한테 문짜를 보내써요].

4. Sample answer: 동생에게 편지를 썼어요. (dongsaengege pyeonjireul sseosseoyo) "I wrote a letter to my younger sibling." Pronounced [동생에게 편지를 써써요]. Any family member with 에게 and a giving or writing verb is right.

If a sentence went wrong, check three things in order: is the receiver alive, how much respect does it need, and is the setting spoken or written? Then continue with the next lessons.

Next Lessons and Where to Go from Here

After the 에게 한테 께 indirect object particles, the best next step is the direct contrast with 에. Read 에게 vs 에 next, because the choice between a living receiver and a thing or place causes the most errors. Then read 에게서 한테서 from a person, which marks the source instead of the receiver. For the whole group, see the Korean location particles hub.

To practise, take the grammar quizzes. This page uses Revised Romanization only as a learning aid; the Hangul is the reference. In short, the 에게 한테 께 indirect object particles follow one test: if the receiver is a living being, choose 에게, 한테 or 께 by the setting, and if it is a thing or a place, choose 에.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does 에게/한테/께 Mean?

에게, 한테 and 께 all mean "to" a person or an animal that receives something: "give to a friend", "call my grandmother", "teach the students". They mark the indirect object, the receiver of the action. 에게 is neutral, 한테 is the spoken version, and 께 is the honorific version used for people you respect.

How Do I Form 에게/한테/께?

Write the person or animal noun and add the particle straight after it, with no change for a final consonant or vowel: 친구에게, 친구한테, 선생님께. Pick 에게 for writing and neutral speech, 한테 for casual speech, and 께 when the receiver deserves respect. Pair 께 with honorific verbs such as 드리다.

What Is the Most Common Mistake with 에게/한테/께?

Learners attach 에게 to a place or an organization, writing 회사에게 전화했어요. Organizations and places are not alive in this test, so they take 에: 회사에 전화했어요. The second common mistake is using 한테 for a grandparent or a teacher when 께 is expected.

How Is 에게/한테/께 Different from Similar Forms?

에게, 한테 and 께 mark the receiver. 에게서 and 한테서 mark the source, the person something comes from. 에 marks a place or a thing. 을/를 marks the object that is given. In 친구에게 선물을 줬어요, 친구에게 is the receiver and 선물을 is the thing given.

Do I Use 에게/한테/께 in Speech, Writing or Both?

Both, with a preference for each form. 에게 suits writing and neutral speech, 한테 suits everyday conversation, and 께 suits any setting where the receiver is older or senior. In casual speech the particle is sometimes dropped, but the meaning gets harder to read, so keep it until you are fluent.