JLPT N4ComparisonUpdated 2026-09-25

あげる vs くれる vs もらう ageru · kureru · morau

あげる presents giving away from the speaker’s side, くれる giving toward it, and もらう receiving. 私が友達にあげた describes my giving; 友達が私にくれた describes a friend giving to me; 私が友達にもらった presents that event from my side. Who counts as “my side” depends on context, and 〜てあげる can sound imposing when a favor is announced.

also written ageru / kureru / morau / てあげる / てくれる / てもらう

あげる — I give, going away from me · くれる — someone gives me, coming toward me · もらう — I receive, from their side

Sentences

6 sentences, word by word

あげる · the thing leaves me

plain past

。

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友達

ともだち［0］

friend

noun · the receiver, marked with に

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に

to; at; into

particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state

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本

ほん［1］

book

noun · the object that travels

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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あげた

gave

plain past of あげる · the thing moved away from the speaker

あげるN4give · away from me

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I gave my friend a book.

くれる · the thing arrives at me

plain past

。

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友達

ともだち［0］

friend

noun · the giver, and the subject of くれる

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が

marks the subject

particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object

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本

ほん［1］

book

noun · the same object, travelling the other way

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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くれた

gave me

plain past of くれる · the thing arrived at the speaker's side

くれるN4give · toward me

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My friend gave me a book.

もらう · the same event, my side

plain past

。

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友達

ともだち［0］

friend

noun · now the source, not the subject

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に

from

particle · the source of what was received

もらうN4receive · から／に

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本

ほん［1］

book

noun · what was received

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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もらった

received

plain past of もらう · the receiver is the subject

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I got a book from my friend.

てくれる · a favour done for me

plain past

。

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田中さん

たなかさん

Tanaka

name ＋さん · the one doing the favour, so the subject

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が

marks the subject

particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object

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説明

せつめい［0］

explanation

noun · 説明する to explain

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して

doing

て-form of する · the action that gets attached to くれる

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くれた

did it for me

てくれる in past · the favour travelled toward the speaker

てくれるN4did it for me

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Tanaka explained it to me.

てもらう · I got them to do it

polite

。

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友達

ともだち［0］

friend

noun · the one who did it, marked に

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に

to; at; into

particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state

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日本語

にほんご［0］

Japanese (the language)

noun · 日 sun + 本 origin + 語 language

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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直して

なおして

correct; fix

て-form of 直す · the action being received

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もらいました

had them do it for me

てもらう in polite past · the benefit came to the speaker

てもらうN4had someone do it

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I had a friend check my Japanese.

いただく · when they outrank you

polite

。

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先生

せんせい［3］

teacher

noun · the person above you, which forces the humble verb

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に

to; at; into

particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state

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教えて

おしえて

teach

て-form of 教える · the action received

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いただきました

humbly received

humble もらう · lowering yourself relative to the teacher

ていただくN4humbly had them do it

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The teacher was kind enough to teach me.

Structure

Who is the subject of each verb?

Giver（me or someone else）＋にあげる

友達に本をあげた. The giver is the subject. Fine for me→you and you→someone else; impossible for anyone→me.

Giver（someone else）＋が … くれる

友達が本をくれた. The giver is still the subject, but the thing must arrive at me or at my side. 私がくれた is ungrammatical.

Receiver（me）＋に／からもらう

友達に本をもらった. The receiver is the subject now, and the source takes に or から.

Verb ［て-form］＋あげる / くれる / もらう

手伝ってくれた. The same directions applied to an action rather than an object — the favour is what travels.

Meaning

How to pick the right one

Draw the arrow first. If the thing moves away from you, あげる. If it moves toward you, くれる. Only after the arrow is settled do you choose whether to tell it from the giver's side or the receiver's.

くれる normally has another person as the giver toward you or your side. 私が友達にくれた is not the normal way to describe my giving to a friend. This is the single hardest thing about the set for English speakers, because English “give” has no such restriction.

くれる and もらう describe the same event. 田中さんが教えてくれた and 田中さんに教えてもらった both mean Tanaka taught me. The first foregrounds Tanaka's kindness; the second foregrounds that I got what I needed.

“My side” stretches further than you. Your family, your team, your company all count as inside. 先生が妹に本をくれた is natural — the book went to my sister, which is close enough to me.

〜てあげる is where politeness goes wrong. Announcing that you will do someone a favour puts you above them. 持ってあげましょうか can sound patronising; お持ちしましょうか offers the same help without the scoreboard.

Watch out

Where giving and receiving go wrong

私がくれた

くれる requires the thing to arrive at you or your side, so you cannot be the giver. Use あげる: 私が友達にあげた.

Offering help with てあげる

荷物を持ってあげます announces that you are doing them a favour, which can land as condescending. お持ちします offers the same thing humbly.

Using あげる to a superior

The humble form is 差し上げる, and even that draws attention to the favour. Often the cleanest move is to drop the giving verb entirely and just say what you will do.

Also asked

Questions people ask about あげる, くれる and もらう

What's the difference between くれる and もらう?

They describe the same event from opposite ends. くれる makes the giver the subject and highlights their kindness; もらう makes the receiver the subject and highlights that you got what you needed.

Why can't I say 私がくれた?

くれる is defined by direction — the thing must come toward you. With you as the giver there is no inward direction left, so the verb has nothing to do. あげる is the one you want.

Is てあげる rude?

Not always, but it is risky upward. It frames what you did as a favour granted, which puts you above the other person. Among friends it is warm; to a customer or a superior, avoid it.