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JLPT N5Giving & Receiving

あげる / もらう— Giving and Receiving

Directional giving/receiving verbs. あげる = to give (from the speaker or in-group outward). もらう = to receive (something comes to the speaker or in-group).

Grammar path · 練習

Practice this in the path

A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 20 · GIVING & RECEIVING

Structure · 形

[Giver]は [Receiver]に [Item]を あげる ・ [Receiver]は [Giver]に/から [Item]を もらう

Examples · 例文

  • 妹にお菓子をあげた。

    Imouto ni okashi o ageta.

    I gave sweets to my little sister.

    妹に (to sister) + お菓子を (sweets) + あげた — direction is outward from the speaker

  • 先生から本をもらいました。

    Sensei kara hon o moraimashita.

    I received a book from the teacher.

    先生から (from the teacher) + 本を + もらいました — に or から can mark the giver

  • 誕生日に母に花をあげます。

    Tanjoubi ni haha ni hana o agemasu.

    I'll give my mother flowers on her birthday.

    母に (to my mother, receiver) + 花を (flowers) + あげます — giving outward from the speaker

Usage notes · 注意

  • Never use あげる when someone gives something TO you — that's what くれる is for. あげる frames the speaker as the giver. • Politeness tiers: あげる has さしあげる (humble, giving up) and やる (casual, to pets/juniors); もらう has いただく (humble).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones あげる is tested against.

vsくれる

あげる = giving away from the in-group; くれる = someone giving TO the speaker/in-group. English 'give' covers both, but Japanese must choose by direction.

vsもらう vs くれる

Both describe the speaker ending up with the item, but もらう takes the speaker as subject ('I received'), while くれる takes the giver as subject ('someone gave me').

More giving & receiving

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