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JLPT N4Giving & Receiving

てくれる— Someone Does a Favor for Me (Inward)

Used when someone does a favor for YOU or your in-group (family, company). The action flows inward from the outside to your benefit, and the giver is the grammatical subject.

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Pro lessonUNIT 72 · GIVING & RECEIVING

Structure · 形

[Giver] が [Verb te-form] + くれる

Examples · 例文

  • 友達が宿題を手伝ってくれた。

    Tomodachi ga shukudai o tetsudatte kureta.

    My friend helped me with my homework.

    手伝って (help) + くれた = did the favor inward, to my benefit

  • 母が弁当を作ってくれた。

    Haha ga bentou o tsukutte kureta.

    My mother made me a lunch box.

    作って + くれた = favor done by family for me

  • 田中さんは何もしてくれなかった。

    Tanaka-san wa nani mo shite kurenakatta.

    Tanaka did nothing for me.

    して + くれなかった = negative — no favor came my way

Usage notes · 注意

  • Perspective matters: If someone does something for you, using 〜てくれる shows gratitude. Just saying 友達が手伝った (my friend helped) sounds flat and leaves out the sense of benefit.
  • The giver acts of their own goodwill, so they are the subject (marked with が).
  • In-group: use it when someone helps your child/family, since you treat them as part of your 'self'.

Commonly confused with

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

vsてもらう

てくれる makes the GIVER the subject (友達が手伝ってくれた). てもらう makes ME the subject, receiving/soliciting the favor (私は友達に手伝ってもらった).

vsてあげる

てあげる is the outward direction — I/we do a favor for someone else. てくれる is inward — someone does a favor for me/my group.

More giving & receiving

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