Today, I'll show you easy but important grammar! How can we say "I prepared a present for my mom," or "I wrote a letter to my friend." in Korean? You'll learn about this "to someone" in this lesson!
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1. 한테/한테서 Basic Meanings
한테 - to
한테 is a marker(particle) that is attached to people or animals. It shows that the noun is receiving the action. You can translate it as "to" in English. 한테 is used in informal and spoken language situations.
As you see, 한테 is attached to 친구(friend) to show who you wrote a letter to. Here is one more example.
수지한테 생일 선물을 줬어요.
I gave a birthday present to Suji. (I gave Suji a birthday present.)
수지 is the one who received the present. So, we attach 한테 to 수지. Make sure there is no space between the name(noun) and 한테. A marker should be attached to a noun!
한테서 - from
한테서 is a marker that shows the starting point. You attach it to people or animals that did an action. You can translate it as "from" or "by". 한테서 is also usually used in informal daily life and spoken language.
You received the letter "from" your friend. So, we attach 한테서 to 친구(friend.)
2. Conjugation Information
You don't have to worry about the final consonant of the noun. You can simply attach 한테(to) or 한테서(from). Here are some nouns you can memorize with.
친구(friend) → 친구한테 / 친구한테서
학생(student) → 학생한테 / 학생한테서
동생(younger sibling) → 동생한테 / 동생한테서
누구(who) → 누구한테 / 누구한테서
선배(one's senior in school) → 선배한테 / 선배한테서
후배(one's junior in school) → 후배한테 / 후배한테서
3. 한테 Grammar
The basic meaning of 한테 grammar is "to". But with various verbs, you can express more! Here I'll show you more detailed meanings you can use. If there is any new verb you encounter, please keep adding to your verb organizer!
① 한테 is often used with the verbs below.
주다 to give | 유리한테 선물을 줬어요. I gave a gift to Yuri. |
빌려주다 to lend | 유리한테 연필을 빌려줬어요. I lent my pencil to Yuri. |
선물하다 to give a present | 유리한테 연필을 선물했어요. I gave Yuri a pencil as a gift. |
가르치다 to teach | 유리한테 한국어를 가르쳤어요. I thought Korean to Yuri. |
전화하다 to call (phone call) | 유리한테 전화했어요. I called Yuri. |
말하다 to talk | 유리한테 말했어요. I told Yuri. |
물어보다 to try to ask | 유리한테 물어보세요. Ask Yuri. |
② When the context is clear, 한테 can be used like 한테서. So, 한테 basically means "to" but it can also mean "from!" Here are some verbs(situations) that you can use both.
받다 to receive | 저는 누나한테 용돈을 받아요. 저는 누나한테서 용돈을 받아요. I receive an allowance from my older sister. |
배우다 to learn | 저는 형한테 운전을 배웠어요. 저는 형한테서 운전을 배웠어요. I learned to drive from my brother. |
얻다 to get | 옆집한테 쌀 좀 얻어와. 옆집한테서 쌀 좀 얻어와. Go get some rice from the neighbor. |
When it is a beneficial situation, you can use 한테 like 한테서. However, you use only 한테 not 한테서 when you talk about the sentence's subject being harmed.
(O) 깡패한테 맞았어요. I got beaten up by a thug.
(X) 깡패한테서 맞았어요.
③ With a movement verb, you can show the direction of the movement to someone. You can think of it as "toward." You may know the direction marker (으)로. But when you talk about the direction to someone, you have to use 한테 instead of (으)로. You can also use 한테로.
가다 to go | 저는 유미한테 갔어요. I went to Yumi. |
오다 to come | 전남자친구는 다시 저한테 왔어요. My ex-boyfriend came back to me. |
다가가다 to approach | 호랑이가 토끼한테 다가갔어요. The tiger approached the rabbit. |
④ With some verbs or adjectives related to "exist", you can mention who has it.
그 책은 민지한테 있어요. That book is with Minji. (Minji has that book.) | |
없다 to not be existed | 그 책은 저한테 없어요. That book is not with me. (I don't have that book.) |
남다 to be left | 할일이 아직 많이 남았어요. I still have a lot of things to do. |
많다 to be a lot | 민지한테 물어보세요. 민지한테 사탕이 많아요. Ask Minji. Minji has a lot of candies. |
⑤ With some verbs or adjectives related to "compare", you can show an object or standard of comparison.
맞다 to be right, to be correct | 이 옷은 손님한테 딱 맞아요. These clothes fit perfectly for you. |
알맞다 to be right/proper | 이 일은 저한테 알맞아요. This work is right for me. |
어울리다 to suit/match | 이 옷은 저한테 잘 어울려요. These clothes suit me. |
비하다 to compare | 젠 씨한테 비하면 저는 아직 부족해요. I'm way behind compared to Jen. |
⑥ You can show a person that is being ordered to do something. In this case, you use 한테 with a causative verb.
엄마가 동생한테 약을 먹게 했어요. Mom made my younger sibling take pills.
아빠가 언니한테 청소를 시켰어요. Dad made my older sister clean.
⑦ 한테 can indicate a subject that holds a feeling. You can also show the subject that made you feel that way.
저한테 너무 쉬웠어요. It was too easy for me.
→ "I" am the one who feels it is easy. So, we can attach 한테 to 저(I).
저는 친구한테 실망했어요. I was disappointed in my friend.
→ 친구(friend) made you feel "disappointed." So, we can attach 한테 to 친구.
4. Examples
Let's see more examples with 한테 and 한테서.
1
엄마한테 전화를 했어요. I called my mom.
엄마한테서 전화가 왔어요. I received a phone call from my mom.
Do you see how 한테 and 한테서 different? Make sure to right one!
2
친구한테 책을 빌려줬어요. I lent my book to my friend.
친구한테서 연필을 빌렸어요. I borrowed a pencil from my friend.
빌려주다 means "to lend" while 빌리다 means "to borrow" or "rent." You have to use an appropriate marker depending on the verb.
3
그 말을 누구한테 했어요? Who did you tell that to?
그 말을 누구한테서 들었어요? Who did you hear that from?
누구 means "who".
4
I gave a present to my friend.
친구한테 선물을 줬어요.
I received a present from my friend.
친구한테서 선물을 받았어요.
친구한테 선물을 받았어요.
주다 means "to give" and 받다 means "to receive." To give something to someone, you need to use "한테." However, in a receiving situation, you can use both 한테 or 한테서 to mean "from." 한테 has many uses.
5. Wrap-up & Worksheet
Let's review some important facts!
I prepared the free and printable worksheet for you. The answers are in this post, throughout the lesson. So once you solve the worksheet, come back and check the answers as a review!
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As you learn, 한테 and 한테서 are used in a spoken language. Then what can we use in writing? In the next lesson, I'll show you what to use!
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