Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 10: 8/12

あげるTo give (away), To present, To provide

For both あげる and くれる, に marks the recipient

Structure

Giver(*)は(1) + Recipient(*)に + Object(*)をあげる

Recipient(*)に + Giver(*)は(1) + Object(*)をあげる

Giver(*)は(1) + Object(*)を + Recipient(*)にあげる

(*) Giver, Recipent and Object are Nouns
(1) が

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Independent Word

  • Register

    Standard

  • Rare Kanji

    上げる

About あげる

あげる is a verb with many uses in Japanese. It's original meaning is 'to raise', but is also used as a polite speech way of saying 'to give'. In this way it can be thought of as similar to 'to offer up' in English. As polite speech has the same basic subject and object rules as standard speech, the giver will be marked with は or が, while the recipient will be marked with に. As usual, the 'object' that is being given will be marked with を.

From these three examples, we can see that the order of 'giver', 'recipient', and 'object' does not matter, so long as the correct particles are used.

Caution

あげる should not be used when giving something to someone of a higher status, or when lowering oneself to elevate another. This is done through honorific language, or humble speech, and will use different verbs.

Fun Fact

Although あげる is considered polite speech, it is the most natural way of saying 'to give'. やる is the 'casual' equivalent of あげる, but due to やる sounding a little bit rough, あげる became the standard.

  • このペンをお前(まえ)にやるよ。
    I will give you this pen. (This pen is all yours)
  • このペンをお前(まえ)にあげるよ。
    I will give you this pen.

Related

Examples

--:--

    その傘(かさ)をあげます。

    I will give you that umbrella. (away)

    私(わたし)は弟(おとうと)に飲(の)み物(もの)をあげた。

    I gave my little brother a drink. (away)

    宝箱(たからばこ)の鍵(かぎ)をあげます。

    I will give you a key to a treasure chest. (away)

    紙(かみ)をあげるのでメモして。

    Since I will give you some paper, take some notes. (away)

    彼(かれ)にスマホをあげましょう。

    Let's give him a smartphone! (away)

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      あげる – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        to give (away), to present, to provide

        Structure

        • Giverは・が + Recipientに + Nounを あげる
        • Recipientに + Giverは・が + Nounを あげる
        • Giverは・が + Nounを + Recipientに あげる

        View on Bunpro

        For both あげる and くれる, に marks the recipient.
        Cannot be used when something is given to someone of higher status than the speaker.

        [あげる describes something being given to someone outside your inner circle]
        [あげる → To give away from the speaker・くれる → To give towards the speaker]

        [Only used if the result is desirable・If the context is understood, both the giver and...

      • deltacat3

        deltacat3

        彼は果物が好きだから、お土産 に 果物をあげる
        Since he likes fruit, I will give him fruit as a present.

        What is the particle に expressing here?

      • Joluju

        Joluju

        In the ageru lesson, in the Examples tab, the second sentence is
        私（わたし）は弟（おとうと）に飲（の）み物（もの）を あげた 。
        I gave my little brother a drink.
        But in the Meaning tab, it is stated that “[あげる describes something being given to someone outside your inner circle]”.
        It seems to me there is a contradiction, since my little brother certainly belongs my inner circle.
        Is the example inappropriate, or is the statement false, or what did I understand wrongly ?

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        I didn’t get this either when I first started studying Japanese, then I watched this YouTube video (attached at the bottom of this post) and it suddenly became so simple for me.

        So basically in Japanese culture there are 3 circles:
        The first one is just you, so if you give anything to anyone outside of that circle (anyone except yourself) then you should use あげる.
        The second one if your close friends, close family, etc.
        The third is basically anyone else. Acquaintances, strangers, etc.

        So if someone in your 2nd circle gives something to someone in your 3rd circle, that is also あげる, but if someone in your 3rd circle gives something to someone in your 2nd or 1st circle (you), it’s くれる.

        Anyway, here’s the video, which can explain much better than I can:

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @matt_in_mito Awesome explanation and link! I have added this video to the Readings sections of あげる, くれる, もらう. Cheers!

      • Joluju

        Joluju

        Thanks for the link, it is a useful video, it makes things more clearer.
        Now I understand what confused me. In “[あげる describes something being given to someone outside your inner circle]” the term “inner circle” is not defined. I didn’t know I could be my own inner circle, I thought the inner circle was me + family + friends, that’s why.
        A short sentence cannot convey enough information, a video or a drawing is a big help.

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        Glad it helped. As I say, I got so confused with this when I first started and this video just made it so simple for me. This guy does other videos too, which are also really clear and east to understand, but this one probably helped me the most.

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