께: The Honorific 에게

Honorific dative — 'to' someone you would not address with 한테.

Before this, make sure you know: 에게, 한테 , 께서

How to form it

When	Form	Example
Elevated person	N + 께	선생님께 / 어머님께

께 is the honorific 에게.

표준국어대사전: 께 is the honorific of 에게. Use it for people you elevate — teachers, elders, customers in careful speech — not for close same-age friends.

	Plain	Honorific
to	에게 / 한테	께
subject	이 / 가	께서 께서

선생님께 선물을 드렸어요.     I gave a gift to the teacher.
어머님께 말씀드렸어요.       I told Mother.

*선생님께서 드리다 mixes subject honorific with a giving frame. Recipient → 께. Subject → 께서.

Pick one lane: casual 한테, careful 에게, honorific 께.

에게, 한테

to a person — 에게 in writing, 한테 in speech

께서

honorific subject particle — for someone you elevate

In the Sejong course this appears in 엄마 친구는 어떻게 생겼어요? — Sejong Korean 2, Unit 3, on the theme of 외모. These come with it:

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께kketo (honorific) — honorific 에게

드리다deuridato give (humble)

말씀드리다malsseumdeuridato tell (humble)

선물seonmulgift

No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.

1. Which is the honorific 'to the teacher'?

2. 께 vs 께서?

3. Can you say 친구께 for a close same-age friend?

Dictionary?

표준국어대사전: 께 is the honorific of 에게.

한테께?

Not a form. Choose 한테 or 께 — do not stack them.

Verb pairing?

Often travels with humble verbs (드리다). The particle elevates the recipient; the verb choice completes the respect.

Same unit as modifiers?

Appearance talk still needs polite giving/telling: 어머니께 말씀드리다.