Japanese Giving & Receiving Verbs — ageru, morau, kureru [JLPT N5]
Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated August 6, 2026
Get the direction wrong and it won't make sense — the perspective behind あげる, くれる and もらう, with examples.
Giving & Receiving Verbs: The Three Most Confusing Verbs
The reason giving-and-receiving verbs trip up so many learners isn't vocabulary — it's that Japanese ties the act of giving to whose viewpoint you're speaking from. Say a friend brings you a souvenir: if you want to say "he gave it to me" but reach for あげる, a Japanese listener gets confused and hears "you gave it to him." Think of あげる, くれる and もらう as a camera pointing in different directions — once you know which way the lens is facing, the whole system clicks into place.
Japanese has three core giving/receiving verbs: あげる・もらう・くれる. They trouble learners because the difference isn't in the action itself but in the speaker's perspective. Master these to correctly express ‘who gave what to whom' and ‘who did something for whom.'
The Core Direction of the Three Verbs
| Verb | Direction | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| あげる | me → you / me → them | ‘I give out' |
| もらう | me ← you / me ← them | ‘I receive' |
| くれる | you → me / them → me | ‘you/they give me' |
🔑 Both くれる and あげる mean ‘give,' but the endpoint of くれる is always ‘me (the speaker).' あげる: I give to others (I'm the giver); くれる: others give to me (I'm the receiver).
あげる (I give → others)
Nuance: the speaker (or the speaker's side) gives something out; the receiver is someone else.
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 私は田中さんに本をあげました。 | I gave Tanaka a book. |
| 弟に誕生日プレゼントをあげます。 | I'll give my brother a birthday present. |
| 友達にケーキを作ってあげました。 | I made a cake for my friend. |
⚠️ Don't use あげる for a superior — use the honorific さしあげる: ✗ 先生にあげます → ✓ 先生にさしあげます.
もらう (I receive ← others)
Nuance: the speaker receives something from someone, stressing the act of receiving.
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 私は田中さんに本をもらいました。 | I received a book from Tanaka. |
| 母に手紙をもらいました。 | I received a letter from my mother. |
| 先生に説明してもらいました。 | I had the teacher explain it (to me). |
💡 The humble form of もらう is いただく: 先生にサインをいただきました。
くれる (others give → me)
Nuance: someone gives something to the speaker; the point is ‘I received it,' but it's told from the giver's perspective.
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 田中さんは私に本をくれました。 | Tanaka gave me a book. |
| 母は毎日お弁当を作ってくれます。 | My mother makes me a lunch every day. |
| 友達が助けてくれた。 | My friend helped me. |
💡 The honorific of くれる is くださる: 先生が本をくださいました。/ 教えてくださって、ありがとうございます。
てあげる・てもらう・てくれる (giving/receiving an action)
Added to the te-form, these express ‘doing something for someone' or ‘having someone do something for you.'
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜てあげる | I do … for others | 荷物を持ってあげました。(I carried her bag for her.) |
| 〜てもらう | I have others do … for me | 荷物を持ってもらいました。(I had him carry my bag.) |
| 〜てくれる | others did … for me | 荷物を持ってくれました。(He carried my bag for me.) |
💡 These three describe the same event from different perspectives: 友達に駅まで送ってあげた / 送ってもらった / 友達が送ってくれた.
Honorific/Humble Reference Table
| Plain | Honorific (to a superior) | Humble (about oneself) |
|---|---|---|
| あげる | → さしあげる | ─ |
| くれる | → くださる | ─ |
| もらう | ─ | → いただく |
Examples: 先生に本をさしあげました。/ 先生が本をくださいました。/ 先生に本をいただきました。
あげる vs くれる — Same Action, Different Perspective
| Statement | Perspective | Told by |
|---|---|---|
| 私が田中さんに本をあげた。 （I gave Tanaka a book.） | the giver's (me) view | "me" |
| 田中さんが私に本をくれた。 （Tanaka gave me a book.） | the receiver's (me) view | "me" |
Both are correct, but 「私がくれた」 is wrong — the endpoint of くれる must always be the speaker's side (me).
❌ Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Reversing the direction of くれる
- ✗ 私は田中さんに本をくれた。('I gave Tanaka a book' → wrong; the endpoint of くれる is 'me')
- ✓ 私は田中さんに本をあげた。 （I gave Tanaka a book.）
Mistake 2: Using あげる with a superior
- ✗ 先生に花をあげます。(impolite)
- ✓ 先生に花をさしあげます。 （I present flowers to my teacher.）
Mistake 3: Confusing もらう and くれる
- もらう stresses 'I received it' (my action)
- くれる stresses 'they gave it to me' (their action)
- Similar meanings, different perspectives — they aren't freely interchangeable.
💡 The one thing to remember
The hard part of あげる・もらう・くれる isn't the words — it's viewpoint. Remember one line: does the “giving” end up at me (or my side)? If yes → くれる (someone gives to me); if I give outward → あげる; if you spotlight “I received” → もらう. Picture them as camera angles, and the everyday slip “a friend gave me” (✗ あげる → ○ くれる) stops flipping.
❓ Common questions
Q: くれる and もらう both mean “receive” — how do they differ?
Look at the subject (viewpoint): くれる's subject is the giver (田中さんが本をくれた = Tanaka gave it to me, focus on him); もらう's subject is me, the receiver (私が本をもらった = I received it, focus on me). Same event, two camera angles.
Q: How do I say this to a teacher or boss?
Upgrade to honorifics: あげる→さしあげる, くれる→くださる, もらう→いただく. E.g., 先生が教えてくださった, 先生に教えていただいた.
🖊️ Practice Quiz
Q1. 「田中さんは私にチョコレートを___。」Fill the blank.
(A) あげました (B) もらいました (C) くれました (D) さしあげました
Q2. 「私は友達に本を___。」Fill the blank.
(A) くれました (B) あげました (C) もらいました (D) いただきました
Q3. 「先生にいろいろ教えて___、ありがとうございます。」Fill the blank (honorific).
(A) あげて (B) もらって (C) くれて (D) くださって
Q4. 「友達に写真を撮って___。」(I had a friend take a photo for me) Fill the blank.
(A) あげました (B) もらいました (C) くれました (D) さしあげました
Q5. Which sentence is correct?
(A) 私は田中さんにプレゼントをくれました。
(B) 田中さんは私にプレゼントをくれました。
(C) 私は田中さんにプレゼントをもらいました。(= I gave to Tanaka)
(D) 田中さんは私にプレゼントをあげました。(= I gave to Tanaka)
Answer Key
1. (C) くれました ── someone (Tanaka) gives to me → くれる (the endpoint is the speaker 私).
2. (B) あげました ── I give to someone else → あげる (the giver is the speaker 私).
3. (D) くださって ── the teacher (a superior) does something for me → くださる (honorific of くれる).
4. (B) もらいました ── I have someone do something for me → てもらう: 撮ってもらいました.
5. (B) 田中さんは私にプレゼントをくれました ── someone giving to me uses くれる; (A) misuses くれる, (C)(D) have mismatched meanings.