あげるTo give (away), To present, To provide

For both あげる and くれる, に marks the recipient

Structure

Giver^(*)は⁽¹⁾ + Recipient^(*)に + Object^(*)をあげる

Recipient^(*)に + Giver^(*)は⁽¹⁾ + Object^(*)をあげる

Giver^(*)は⁽¹⁾ + Object^(*)を + Recipient^(*)にあげる

^(*) Giver, Recipent and Object are Nouns
⁽¹⁾ が

Details

Part of Speech
Verb
Word Type
Independent Word
Register
Standard
Rare Kanji
上げる

About あげる

あげる is a verb with many uses in Japanese. It's original meaning is 'to raise', but is also used as a polite speech way of saying 'to give'. In this way it can be thought of as similar to 'to offer up' in English. As polite speech has the same basic subject and object rules as standard speech, the giver will be marked with は or が, while the recipient will be marked with に. As usual, the 'object' that is being given will be marked with を.

From these three examples, we can see that the order of 'giver', 'recipient', and 'object' does not matter, so long as the correct particles are used.

Caution

あげる should not be used when giving something to someone of a higher status, or when lowering oneself to elevate another. This is done through honorific language, or humble speech, and will use different verbs.

Fun Fact

Although あげる is considered polite speech, it is the most natural way of saying 'to give'. やる is the 'casual' equivalent of あげる, but due to やる sounding a little bit rough, あげる became the standard.

このペンをお前(まえ)にやるよ。

I will give you this pen. (This pen is all yours)
このペンをお前(まえ)にあげるよ。

I will give you this pen.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

その傘(かさ)をあげます。

I will give you that umbrella. (away)

私(わたし)は弟(おとうと)に飲(の)み物(もの)をあげた。

I gave my little brother a drink. (away)

宝箱(たからばこ)の鍵(かぎ)をあげます。

I will give you a key to a treasure chest. (away)

紙(かみ)をあげるのでメモして。

Since I will give you some paper, take some notes. (away)

彼(かれ)にスマホをあげましょう。

Let's give him a smartphone! (away)

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Online
- Inner/outer circles and which verb to use
  Kanji Link [video]
- あげる, くれる, and もらう as Verbs
  Wasabi
- When to use あげる
  Tae Kim

Offline
- Genki II 2nd Edition
  Page 56
- みんなの日本語 I
  Page 50 [CH 7]
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 63
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 170
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あげる – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

Pushindawood
@matt_in_mito Awesome explanation and link! I have added this video to the Readings sections of あげる, くれる, もらう. Cheers!
Joluju
Thanks for the link, it is a useful video, it makes things more clearer.
Now I understand what confused me. In “[あげる describes something being given to someone outside your inner circle]” the term “inner circle” is not defined. I didn’t know I could be my own inner circle, I thought the inner circle was me + family + friends, that’s why.
A short sentence cannot convey enough information, a video or a drawing is a big help.
matt_in_mito
Glad it helped. As I say, I got so confused with this when I first started and this video just made it so simple for me. This guy does other videos too, which are also really clear and east to understand, but this one probably helped me the most.