Can I use the "-께" in the meaning of "from"?
Can I use the "-께" in the meaning of "from"?
I saw in the book "Korean Grammar in Use" that I can use "-께" in the meaning of "from" (like -에게서/한테서), but other resources tell me that the only meaning of "께" is "to" (like -에게/-한테).

Can you show me with some examples?

Question

Can I use the "-께" in the meaning of "from"?
Can I use the "-께" in the meaning of "from"?
 I saw in the book "Korean Grammar in Use" that I can use "-께" in the meaning of "from" (like -에게서/한테서), but other resources tell me that the only meaning of "께" is "to" (like -에게/-한테).

Can you show me with some examples?

Answer

Hi, there.
께 can mean both 'from' and 'to'.
'께' is basically the honorific form of '에게‘ or '한테‘, meaning 'to'. For instance,
친구에게 선물을 주었어요. I gave the present to my friend.
엄마께 전화했어요. I made a call to my mom.

To turn 'to' into 'from', just add -서 to make 에게서 and 한테서. 
However, it is incorrect to add -서 to 께 to mean 'from'.
So,
친구에게서 편지를 받았어요! I received a letter from my friend!
아빠께 전화를 받았어요. I got a call from my dad.

Some people think 께서 means 'from', but this is wrong! 께서 is the honorific version of the 이/가 particle.
아빠께서 키가 크다. Dad is tall.
엄마께서 예쁘다. Mom is pretty.

Answers · 1

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!