“Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.” – Jim Rohn
You’ve learned most, if not all, of the vocab words associated with giving and receiving in Japanese. The thing that makes them interesting isn’t the words… it’s how they’re used. It’s quite different from English.
あげる (To Give)
あげる is the same as English. It just means “to give” and it’s very straightforward.
a プレゼントをあげる。
Give a present.
a 池田さんにプレゼントをあげた。
I gave a present to Ikeda.
Nothing new here.
くれる (To Be Given)
This is where things start getting tricky. This also means “to give” but it’s only used when someone gives you something. So, it’s kind of like you’re receiving something, but you’re saying that someone gave you the item. Does that make any sense?
a 池田さんはハンバーガーをくれた。
Ikeda gave (me) a hamburger.
a 田中さんは私に車をくれる！
Tanaka will give me a car!
Can you see how this might be confusing? Try not to be confused by it. Just remember, くれる is when someone is giving you something. You’re receiving, but it’s being given to you.
もらう (To Receive)
This one is similar to くれる except for anyone can receive! くれる is going to be more polite when talking about yourself receiving something, though. Oh, and do you remember から?
a ひろゆきさんからもらいました。
I received it from Hiroyuki.
a フレディーさんはバナナをもらいました。
Freddy received a banana.
a フレディーさんはひろゆきさんからバナナをもらいました。
Freddy received a banana from Hiroyuki.
もらう is a little more straightforward. Did you see how I used から (which you just learned) in there to say where an item came from? This should be familiar.
Make sure you understand everything here and are able to differentiate between the three concepts (あげる, くれる, and もらう). If you can do that, you’ll be ready for the practice.