LEARN + KOREAN / 41 of 125 TOPIK I

To You 에게/한테

You send a letter to a friend: 친구한테 편지를 보내요. -에게 and conversational -한테 mark the person receiving something; -께 is the respectful form. The verb may also change to show respect.

chinguege seonmureul jwoyo.

I give a gift to a friend.

In Real Life

에게 and 한테 mean exactly the same thing. 한테 is what you’ll actually hear in conversation; 에게 shows up more in writing. It’s the same written-versus-spoken split as 하고 versus 와/과.

dongsaenghante jeonhwahaeyo.

I call my younger sibling.

bumonimkke seonmureul deuryeosseoyo.

I gave a gift to my parents.

seonsaengnimkke jilmuneul haeyo.

I ask the teacher a question.

In Real Life

께 marks a respected recipient, while 드리다 is the respectful choice for giving to that person. 부모님께 선물을 드려요 is a useful model. The particle can be omitted when the recipient is clear; respect is not a mechanical requirement that both words must always appear together.

anna ssiga jaemin ssiege pyeonjireul sseosseoyo.

Anna wrote a letter to Jaemin.

halmeonikke jeonhwadeuryeoyo.

I call my grandmother.

Vocabulary

Korean	English
편지 pyeonji	letter
결혼식 gyeolhonsik	wedding
졸업식 joreopsik	graduation
설날 seollal	Lunar New Year
추석 chuseok	Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving)
집들이 jipdeuri	housewarming party
할아버지 harabeoji	grandfather
할머니 halmeoni	grandmother
선배 seonbae	senior (school, work)
후배 hubae	junior (school, work)
존댓말 jondaenmal	honorific speech
축하하다 chukhahada	to congratulate
초대하다 chodaehada	to invite
연락하다 yeollakhada	to contact, to get in touch
인사하다 insahada	to greet, to say hello
소개하다 sogaehada	to introduce
챙기다 chaenggida	to look after, take care of
관계 gwangye	relationship
친하다 chinhada	to be close, friendly with
어른 eoreun	adult, elder

YOUR PROGRESS

Finished this lesson?

Save your place in this course.