Japanese/Lessons/Giving and Receiving
There are several ways to express giving and receiving depending on which side the speaker is on, but also depending on whether someone of higher or lower rank is being addressed.
Giving
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When expressing that someone gives to someone else (but not you), use the form of:
| (Giver) | は が |
(Receiver) に (object) を |
|
When others give you, use either:
| (Giver) | は が |
(you) に (object) を | くれる |
私 は先生 に本 を差 し上 げます。 // I give the teacher the book.
私 は妹 にお菓子 をあげる。 // I give my sister candy. (plain present)私達 は猫 にボールをあげた。 // We gave the cat a ball. (plain past)彼女 は先生 に林檎 をあげます。 // The girl gives an apple to the teacher. (polite present)友達 はお母 さんにカードをあげました。 // My friend gave his mom a card. (polite past)
The polite form is "くださる" while "くれる" is of neutral politeness and most commonly used. You will often use this verb when you've gotten something from someone who isn't currently there.
先生 は私 に本 を下 さいました。 // The teacher gave me a book.
- あなたは
私 にビデオをくれる。 // I get a video from you. 岸子 は私 にマンガをくれた。 // I received a manga from kishiko.
Receiving
editWhen expressing that someone receives from someone else, use a form of:
| (Receiver) | は が |
(Giver) | に から |
(object) を |
Although に is slightly more casual, you can use both に and から when you receive some physical objecs. For actions, you can only use に. Use から when you wish to emphasize the giver.
- クリスマスが
来 たら、お婆 ちゃんに新車 をもらうと思 う。 // When Christmas comes, I think I'll get a new car from grandma. (plain form) 誕生日 に、梓 はお父 さんから250,000円をもらったそうです！ // For her birthday, I heard that Azusa received 250,000 yen from her dad! (polite form)[2]彼女 は王子 と結婚 したら、女王 に多 くの宝石 をもらいます。 // When she marries the prince, she will receive many jewels from the queen. (polite form)- お
母 さんに新 しいパソコンをもらいました！ // I got a new computer from my mother! (polite form)
The verb いただく is a humble verb, and is used when you receive something from a superior or wish to show respect.
Example:
私 は先生 にペンをいただきました。 // I received a pen from the teacher.
Actions
editWhen the object being given or received is an action (and thus expressed by a verb) you can attach use it in the て-form in place of the object.
| (Giver) は | (Verb in 〜て form) | (Verb of giving)。 |
| (Receiver) に | (Verb of receiving)。 |
Note that for receiving an action, you cannot use "から".
Examples for giving, "I washed the car for her," or, "I did the laundry for him." Here are some examples in Japanese:
私 はアパートの掃除 をしてあげました。 // I cleaned the apartment (for him/her). (polite form)私 は晩 ご飯 を作 ってあげた。 // I made dinner (for him or her). (plain form)
Examples for receiving, "The dentist examined my teeth for me," or "Mom cleaned up my room for me." Here are some examples:
医者 に診 てもらいました。 // The doctor examined me (for me). (polite form)彼氏 に新 しい車 を買 ってもらった！ // My boyfriend bought a new car for me! (plain form)