Learn Hardcore Korean: chinguhanteseo sosigi eobseoyo.

한테서 = from (a person), focusing on the source. Very common in speech.
한테 = to (a person). In everyday speech it can also mean from with certain verbs (받다, 듣다, 전화/연락 오다), but with nouns like 소식 the standard is 한테서.
에게서 = from (a person), more formal/written than 한테서.
에게 = to (a person), formal counterpart of 한테.
로부터 = from, quite formal/literary; often used for institutions or abstract sources (정부로부터, 회사로부터, 영향으로부터).

Examples:

친구한테서 소식이 없어요. (No news from my friend.)
선생님에게서 이메일이 왔어요. (More formal.)
회사로부터 통보를 받았어요. (From a company, formal.)
친구한테 전화가 왔어요. (Colloquial “from.”)

Why is it 없어요 and not something like 안 있어요?

Korean expresses existence/non-existence with the pair 있다/없다. You don’t normally negate 있다 with 안 to say “not exist”; you use 없다.

Correct: 소식이 없어요., 시간이 없어요.
Not used for existence: 소식을 안 있어요. Note: 안 있다 can appear to mean “not stay/be (somewhere)” in some contexts, but for “there is no …,” the natural form is always 없다.

Where is the subject “I” in this sentence? How does the sentence imply “I haven’t heard …”?

Korean often omits pronouns when they’re clear from context. 소식이 없어요 states “there is no news,” and in normal conversation that defaults to the speaker’s perspective (“I haven’t heard any”). If needed, you can make “my friend” explicit:

제 친구한테서 소식이 없어요. (No news from my friend.) You usually don’t add 저는 here unless you want a contrastive topic.

Can I drop 서 and say 친구한테 소식이 없어요?

With 소식(이 없다), the natural and recommended form is 한테서/에게서. While 한테 alone can mean “from” with certain verbs (e.g., 친구한테 문자 받았어요, 친구한테 전화가 왔어요), with this noun-based pattern (N + 이/가 없다), use 한테서/에게서.

Why not 친구에서?

에서 marks places (and sometimes institutions) as locations/sources, not people. So:

Wrong for a person: ✗ 친구에서 소식이 없어요.
Fine for an institution/place: 회사에서 소식이 없어요. (No news from the company.)

What’s the nuance difference between 소식 and 연락? Can I say 친구한테서 연락이 없어요?

소식 = “news/updates.” Broader; can be direct or indirect updates (through others).
연락 = “contact” (calls, texts, DMs). Focuses on direct contact. Yes, 친구한테서 연락이 없어요 is very common and specifically means they haven’t contacted you. 소식이 없어요 can sound a bit broader/more general.

Can I say 친구 소식이 없어요 instead? Is that the same?

친구한테서 소식이 없어요 = There’s no news from that friend (they haven’t reached out).
친구 소식이 없어요 = There’s no news about the friend (no updates about them from anyone). Both are natural, but the source nuance differs.

Why is 소식 marked with 이? Could I use 은/는 or omit the particle?

소식이 없어요: neutral statement of non-existence (subject marking with 이/가 fits 있다/없다).
소식은 없어요: contrastive/topic nuance (“As for news, there isn’t any [but maybe there is something else]”).
Casual omission is possible: 소식 없어요, but 이/가 is most typical with 있다/없다.

How would I change the politeness level?

Formal polite: 소식이 없습니다.
Polite: 소식이 없어요. (your sentence)
Casual: 소식이 없어.
Soft/exclamatory: 소식이 없네요. Choose based on situation and relationship.

Are there alternative verbs I can use, like “come/hear” for news?

Yes:

소식이 오다/들리다: 친구한테서 소식이 왔어요/들렸어요. (News came / I heard news.)
For direct contact: 연락이 오다: 친구한테서 연락이 왔어요. Negation alternatives:
소식이 안 와요. (News doesn’t come.) Natural, though 소식이 없어요 is the default idiom.
연락이 안 와요. (No contact is coming. Very common.)

How can I add “still/yet” to say “I still haven’t heard from my friend”?

Use 아직(도):

아직(도) 친구한테서 소식이 없어요. 여전히 can also work for “still,” but 아직(도) is most idiomatic here.

How do I make it stronger, like “no news at all”?

아무 소식도 없어요.
전혀 소식이 없어요.
통 소식이 없어요. (Colloquial, emphatic)
For “not even one call/text”: 연락 한 통도 없어요.

Is 에게서 only for people? What about companies or organizations?

에게서 and 한테서 are primarily for animate beings (people, sometimes animals).
For institutions, you’ll commonly see 에서 or 로부터:
- 회사에서 소식이 없어요.
- 회사로부터 통보를 받았어요. Using 회사에게서 is grammatical but feels stiff/less common.

Can I use 한테서 with pronouns too?

Yes:

나한테서/저한테서 (from me)
너한테서 (from you) Examples:
그 얘기 나한테서 들었잖아. (You heard that from me.)
그 책을 저한테서 빌렸어요. (He/She borrowed the book from me.)

Can I mark 친구한테서 with 는 for contrast?

Yes, attach the topic marker to the whole postpositional phrase:

친구한테서는 소식이 없어요. (From my friend, there’s no news—implying maybe from others there is.) This is useful when contrasting multiple sources:
친구한테서는 소식이 없는데, 가족한테서는 있어요.