あげる／くれる (ageru / kureru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Give

あげる and くれる are two Japanese verbs that both mean give, and are both used in different contexts.

あげる (ageru) means to give from the speaker's point of view. あげる is used when you give or do something for someone else.

くれる (kureru) means to give from the point of view of the receiver. くれる is used when someone else gives or does something for you.

As you can see in the two example sentences, we used the following particles:

• が indicates the subject of the action (who gives something)
• を indicates the object (what is given)
• に indicates who receives

We also see how the difference between the two sentences is that we have reversed who gives (subject) and who receives. This difference requires you to change the verb from あげる to くれる.

Difference between あげる and くれる

As we have seen, both あげる and くれる translate the verb give. To understand the difference between the two, consider who does the action and who receives it.

In Japanese the language changes according to the relationship we have with the interlocutor.

あげる is used when me or someone in my circle of friends or family offers something to someone outside my circle of acquaintances.

The key idea for あげる is: from the inside out.

くれる instead is used the one who performs the action does something for someone in a smaller circle.

The key idea for くれる is: from the outside in.

The difference between あげる and くれる can be seen in the diagram above. We can see three circles in the image:

• 私(わたし) (I): Yourself
• 内(うち) (internal): The circle of friends and family
• 外(そと) (external): The outer circle (strangers, superiors, etc.)

As you can see, when something is given from an innermost circle outwards the verb to use is あげる.

On the contrary, when something is given from the outermost circle to an innermost one the verb to use is くれる.

Synonym of ageru: 与(あた)える, ataeru

てあげる form

The verbs あげる, くれる, もらう, いただく are also commonly used combined with the て form of the verb.

• てあげる: I perform an action in favor of a person in my group uchi 内(うち) or towards an outside member 外(そと) who is considered equal.

Here is a comment コメント on a video of a 天ぷらのレシピ Tenpura recipe on the Internet:

When we use the あげもらい verbs: giving and receving verbs, we have to consider the concept of 上(じょう)下(げ)関(かん)係(けい) the hierarchical relationships.

Many expressions even if grammatically correct, cannot be used towards superiors, the owner of the company I work for example, as it would be indelicate.

あげもらい the Giving and Receiving verbs imply the fact of helping, of doing a favor for somebody, reason why they are not appropriate towards a superior.

More examples with Ageru and Kureru