In short

Use 에게 (written), 한테 (spoken) or 께 (honorific) to mark the person something is given, sent, taught or said to. Add -서 (에게서/한테서), or (으)로부터, to mark the person or place it comes from. An inanimate recipient - a school, a plant, a company - takes plain 에 instead.

The rule

Korean glues the “to” and “from” information onto the end of the noun, with no space. Which particle you use depends on two things: who is receiving (register + honour) and whether the recipient is a living thing.

Step 1 - Who receives it: 에게 / 한테 / 께

These three all mean to (a person) and all attach identically after a vowel or a 받침 - there is no allomorph pair here. They differ only in register:

• 한테 - everyday spoken Korean. This is your default. 친구한테 (chinguhante, to a friend).
• 에게 - the written / neutral equivalent. Same meaning, more formal. 친구에게 (chinguege).
• 께 - the honorific form, for someone you look up to. 선생님께 (seonsaengnimkke, to the teacher).

Step 2 - The animacy gate

Only a living recipient (a person or an animal) takes 에게/한테/께. A thing, place or organisation takes the location particle 에 from lesson 9:

• 친구한테 전화해요. (Chinguhante jeonhwahaeyo.) - I call my friend. (a person)
• 학교에 전화해요. (Hakgyoe jeonhwahaeyo.) - I call the school. (an organisation -> 에)
• 화분에 물을 줘요. (Hwabune mureul jwoyo.) - I water the plant. (a plant cannot receive -> 에)

Step 3 - 께 travels in a pack

When you honour the recipient with 께, the giving verb also changes: 주다 (juda, give) becomes the humble 드리다 (deurida), which lifts up the person receiving. -(으)시- does not join in here: that suffix honours the subject, and in these sentences the subject is you. It shows up only when the honoured person is the one acting - and then the subject is marked 께서, not 께 (lesson 22).

• 선생님께 선물을 드려요. (Seonsaengnimkke seonmureul deuryeoyo.) - I give the teacher a present.

Never honour yourself: when you are the one receiving, the verb is plain 주다, never 드리다.

Step 4 - Where it comes from: add 서

The source particles are just the dative ones with -서 stuck on: 에게 -> 에게서, 한테 -> 한테서. The honorific source is plain 께 (it takes no 서). For a more formal source, or a place/organisation, use (으)로부터, which picks its shape exactly like (으)로 (vowel/ㄹ -> 로부터, other 받침 -> 으로부터).

• 친구한테서 편지를 받았어요. (Chinguhanteseo pyeonjireul badasseoyo.) - I got a letter from my friend.
• 회사로부터 이메일을 받았어요. (Hoesarobuteo imeireul badasseoyo.) - I got an email from the company.

In casual speech people often drop the 서 and let 한테 cover both directions, so 친구한테 받았어요 is also fine for received from a friend.

Step 5 - Verbs that license these particles

The dative/source slot is opened by transfer and communication verbs: 주다 (give), 드리다 (give, humble), 보내다 (send), 전화하다 (call), 가르치다 (teach), 물어보다 (ask), 말하다 (tell). The ones to watch are 배우다 (learn) and 받다 (receive), which take the source side (from whom).

Step 6 - Stacking 만 / 도 / 는

Focus particles attach after the dative particle, never before it: Noun + 한테 + 만/도/는.

• 친구한테만 전화해요. (Chinguhanteman jeonhwahaeyo.) - I only call my friend.
• 저한테도 보내요. (Jeohantedo bonaeyo.) - Send it to me too.

Forms & patterns

Dative - marking who receives (to):

에게, 한테 and 께 do not change shape after a vowel vs a 받침 - they attach unchanged.

Source - marking where it comes from (from):

Animacy: can it hear you?

Verbs that open the slot:

Examples

Common mistakes

• 회사한테 이메일을 보내요. (Hoesahante imeireul bonaeyo.) -> 회사에 이메일을 보내요. (Hoesae imeireul bonaeyo.) - A company or a school is inanimate, so it takes 에, not 한테/에게. Only people and animals take the dative particles.
• 할머니한테 선물을 줘요. (Halmeonihante seonmureul jwoyo.) -> 할머니께 선물을 드려요. (Halmeonikke seonmureul deuryeoyo.) - When you honour the recipient, the particle becomes 께 and 주다 becomes the humble 드리다. The two move together.
• 친구가 저한테 드려요. (Chinguga jeohante deuryeoyo.) -> 친구가 저한테 줘요. (Chinguga jeohante jwoyo.) - 드리다 elevates the person receiving, so using it when you are the receiver honours yourself. When you are the recipient, the verb is plain 주다.
• 친구에서 편지를 받았어요. (Chingueseo pyeonjireul badasseoyo.) -> 친구한테서 편지를 받았어요. (Chinguhanteseo pyeonjireul badasseoyo.) - 에서 is a place source (한국에서 왔어요). A person source is 한테서 / 에게서 (or 께).
• 친구만한테 전화해요. (Chingumanhante jeonhwahaeyo.) -> 친구한테만 전화해요. (Chinguhanteman jeonhwahaeyo.) - The dative particle comes first, then 만/도/는 stacks on after it: 한테 + 만, never 만 + 한테.

Tips

• 한테 to talk, 에게 to write. They are the same particle in two registers - use 한테 in conversation and messages, 에게 in essays and formal writing. Beginners can safely live on 한테.
• If it can hear you, it takes 한테. A friend, a teacher, a dog can receive, so they take 한테/에게/께. A school, a bank, a flowerpot cannot, so they fall back to 에. This one question settles almost every case.
• Source = dative + 서. 한테 -> 한테서, 에게 -> 에게서. The honorific 께 is the exception: it stays 께 for both to and from and never adds 서.
• 께 is a package deal. Honored recipient -> 께 + 드리다 (not 주다); 말하다 and 물어보다 swap the same way (말씀드리다, 여쭤보다 - lesson 45), while 보내다, 전화하다 and 가르치다 stay plain. Do not tack -(으)시- onto 드려요: -(으)시- honours the subject, and the subject here is you. The full 주다/드리다 contrast is covered again in lesson 33.