에게 vs 한테

1. Title

N에게/한테: Expressing the Recipient in Korean

2. Grammar Explanation

The particles "에게" and "한테" in Korean are used to indicate the recipient of an action, closely aligning with the English preposition "to". While both serve the same grammatical function, "한테" is considered more colloquial and commonly used in spoken Korean, whereas "에게" is more formal and often seen in written language. These particles are attached directly to a noun representing a person or an animal, specifying them as the target or recipient of an action. However, they cannot be used indiscriminately with all verbs. The selection of verbs includes but is not limited to 주다 (to give), 말하다 (to speak), 보내다 (to send), and 가르치다 (to teach).

An important aspect of using "에게" and "한테" is understanding their placement within a sentence structure. They come immediately after the noun that is the recipient of the action, forming a clear link between the action and its recipient. For example, in the sentence "저는 친구한테 선물을 줬어요” (I gave a present to my friend), "친구한테" clearly indicates that the friend is the recipient of the gift.

3. Example Sentences

1. 나는 엄마한테 전화했어. (I called my mom.)

2. 선생님이 학생들에게 숙제를 주셨어요. (The teacher gave homework to the students.)

3. 고양이한테 먹이를 줘야 돼. (You need to give food to the cat.)

4. 저는 친구에게 편지를 보냈습니다. (I sent a letter to my friend.)

5. 동생이 나한테 비밀을 말했어. (My younger sibling told me a secret.)

4. Sample Dialogues

• A: 언니, 내일 누구한테 선물을 줄 거야? (Older sister, who are you going to give a present to tomorrow?)

  B: 나는 여자친구한테 책을 줄 거야. (I will give a book to my girlfriend.)

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• A: 이거 누구한테 받았어? (Who did you receive this from?)

  B: 이건 친구한테 받은 거야. (I received this from a friend.)

5. Make Korean Sentences from English!

1. I will send a message to my teacher.

2. My friend gave a book to me.

3. We should explain this situation to our parents.

4. My sister will show her new dress to me.

5. I need to return this book to the library.

6. Let's sing a song to grandma.

7. I found a lost puppy and took it to the police station.

8. Could you pass this note to the person next to you?

9. I want to recommend this movie to you.

10. I'm going to report our project progress to the team leader.