에게 and 한테 mark "to whom" — the recipient of an action (giving, telling, sending).
에게 — Formal/written style
한테 — Casual/spoken style
께 — Honorific (to respected people)
Use for people and animals only. For places, use 에.
See examples below for varied real-world usage.
에게/한테 vs 에 — People vs places
- ✅ 친구**에게** 말했어요 (told my friend)
- ✅ 학교**에** 갔어요 (went to school)
- ❌ 학교**에게** 갔어요
Honorific 께
- 선생님**께** 드렸어요 (gave to the teacher - honorific)
- 할머니**께** 전화드렸어요 (called grandmother - honorific)
한테 is casual — Avoid in formal writing/business
I asked (honorific) the teacher.
Did you feed the puppy?
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