Structure
Giver(*)は(1) + Recipient(*)に + Object(*)をくれる
Recipient(*)に + Giver(*)は(1) + Object(*)をくれる
Giver(*)は(1) + Object(*)を + Recipient(*)にくれる
(*) Giver, Recipent and Object are Nouns
(1) が
Details
Part of Speech
Verb
Word Type
Independent Word
Register
Standard
Rare Kanji
呉れる
About くれる
くれる is generally taught as part of a set of 3 verbs that are regularly used for giving and receiving in Japanese. These verbs are くれる, あげる, and もらう. くれる means 'to give' (to you, or someone that is part of your 'in' group).
With くれる and あげる, they both function in the regular way you would expect (regarding particles). This means that が will always mark the giver (the person performing the action), and に will mark the recipient (the person that is the 'destination' of the thing that is given). This means that を will be used to mark the 'object' that is given, as is usually the case.
The giver/recipient are often omitted from sentences with くれる, as one/both are usually obvious from context, or the sentence may be focussing on the object.
As can be seen here, the same nuance is kept, even when things are omitted.
Fun Fact
What someone considers their 'in' group will be different for each person, but usually consists of members of your family, clubs that you are in, or something similar that has a 'group' atmosphere (that you are a part of).
The giver will always be someone that is more distant than the people that are in the 'group'.
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近所の人が旅行から帰って来て、父にお土産をくれた。When the neighbors return home from traveling, they give my father souvenirs.
-
先生がクラブ仲間のとしこちゃんに花をくれた。The teacher gave flowers to my club member, Toshiko-chan.
Caution
When we want to say that we (or someone else) gave something to someone that is not in our 'in' group, we will need to use あげる instead.
Related
Examples
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母は僕にかっこいいペンをくれた。
My mom gave me a cool pen. (I was given)
兄は(私に)便利な箱をくれた。
My brother gave me a convenient box. (I was given)
おじいちゃんは(私に)古い自転車をくれた。
My grandpa gave me an old bicycle. (I was given)
彼が(私に)かわいい靴をくれて、嬉しいです。
He gave me some cute shoes, so I am happy. (I was given)
友達は毎週土曜日に私の母にクッキーをくれる。
My friend gives my mom cookies every Saturday. (My mom is given)
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くれる – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (16 in total)
Pushindawood
to give (me), to be given
Structure
- Giverは・が + Recipientに + Nounを くれる
- Recipientに + Giverは・が + Nounを くれる
- Giverは・が + Nounを + Recipientに くれる
View on Bunpro
For both くれる and あげる, に marks the recipient. If you want to express act of giving something to someone outside of your inner circle use あげるinstead.
[くれる describes something being given to you or someone inside your inner circle from someone outside it]
[くれる → To give towards the speaker・あげる → To give away from the s...hotyaznboi
I’m confused by one of the example sentences where くれて is used instead of the expected くれる. I don’t see any info on when to use くれて in the grammar point or in the readings. Perhaps some more info is needed here or am I missing some important lesson somewhere? I didn’t know the Te-form could be used as a conjunction in this manner.
Pushindawood
@hotyaznboi Thank you for your feedback. We do not currently have a lesson dedicated to the conjunctive て-form, but it is something that we plan to add in the future. Since くれる is followed immediately by うれしい, we need a conjunction (くれて) here. If うれしいです was a separate sentence, くれた would be acceptable. However, since the following sentence (うれしいです) is polite, くれました would be the more appropriate choice. I have updated the example sentence information to include a note on the conjunctive. Cheers!
omegazion
The sentence & the orange hint should be reversed.
“My friend gave me X” is the more natural translation and the thought that one would want to express. It also makes me think about the directionality of くれる instead of just associating “was given” = くれるmrnoone
Hey
“X gave me Y” is the main translationmax99x
Is “元気をくれる” a set expression? The current translation of “give me energy” doesn’t make sense to me in English. Does the whole sentence " 彼が(私に)元気をくれた" mean “He cheered me up.”?
Pushindawood
@max99x
That’s right! 元気 is one of many Japanese words that is difficult to construe in English without losing its intended meaning. The reason that we decided to go with the more literal translation here was to make it easier to produce the grammar point in question. I have updated the sentence to include the “He cheered me up.” translation to hopefully clear up any future confusion. Cheers!
Joluju
How come sentence examples describe things given to me by my mom, or my elder brother, or my grandpa ? These people belong my inner circle, don’t they ? The quote says “… from someone outside it”, this clause is not satisfied, kureru should not apply then. I don’t understand.
Pushindawood
@Joluju Thank you for your inquiry! Check this explanation and video out to get a better understanding of circles/social distances. Cheers!
deltacat3
彼女はいつも(僕に)綺麗な封筒をくれる。
She always gives (me) pretty envelopes.Can くれる be changed into くれている to further emphasize a habitual action? Or is that a no, no?
Pushindawood
@deltacat3
This is not necessarily a no, no, but it is far more common to use をくれている when you are not referring to physical objects. E.g. you will often come across phrases like 愛をくれている, 元気 をくれている, or 許可 をくれている.
It is more common to see くれている used with verbs (てくれている) when the speaker wishes to further emphasize that the action is ongoing. So, you could say 彼女はいつも(僕に)綺麗な封筒を送ってくれている to further emphasize that she is always sending me pretty envelopes.
Cheers!
jrmr50
if we use て here, what puts the sentence into the past tense? Why isn’t it 'he gives some cute shoes to me, so I am happy`
I had opted for くれた
FredKore
The comma indicates that it has to be て-form to join with something that comes after. If you put くれた then that would be the end of the sentence.
It’s translated as past tense because the situation is that ‘I am currently happy about something that happened’.The pattern is like these grammar points:
Verb[て] + B | Japanese Grammar SRS
てくれてありがとう | Japanese Grammar SRS
てすみません | Japanese Grammar SRSMikkaT
Hi, I saw these diagrams which helped understanding the concept better.
Bazza
- 近所の人が旅行から帰って来て、父にお土産をくれた。
When the neighbors return home from traveling, they give my father souvenirs.
That is one of the example sentences and its translation. I thought it was describing a one time event, because of the final くれた. The translation however says ‘give’ rather than ‘gave’, suggesting it is a habit.
Could you confirm please?
Thanks in advance!
Fuga
Hey @Bazza !
This seemed like an input error on our end so we have just fixed it!
Bazza
Awesome - thanks for the quick work on that!
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