17.8 Sense of Benefit Language & Culture Lessons One thing you should know about Japanese culture is that it's all about giving and receiving gifts. That's why mastering how to express the giving and receiving of items and favors is not only important but a useful skill to have. Language Lesson Ageru, Kureru, Morau 皆さんこんにちわ! The Japanese verbs of giving and receiving may be a bit haunting at first as they depend on who gives to whom, and on who is talking about it. But, hopefully by the end of this lesson, you'll get a more straightforward gist of it all. 1. Outbound Giving When you are giving something to someone else, that is, the giving is outward bound, use... あげる Ageru Give to you / him / her / them / it 友達にプレゼントをあげる ともだちにプレゼントをあげる Tomodachi ni purezento o ageru. I give a present to a friend. When you, the giver, is of a higher status than the person you're a giving to, that is, the recipient; such as a parent to a child, or a human to an animal, you can substitute Yaru / やる which is the action "to do" for Ageru / あげる やる Yaru Give to you / him / her / them / it に餌をやる いぬにえさをやる Inu ni esa o yaru. I give the dog his food. For all "Give" verbs, Ga or Wa marks the Giver, Ni marks the Recipient, and O marks the item given. わたしはかれにチョコをあげる 私は彼にチョコをあげる Watashi WA kare NI choco O ageru. I give him chocolates. When the Giver is the speaker and the recipient is his or her social superior, use the polite version of Ageru, which is... さしあげる差し上げる Sashiageru Give to you / him / her / them / it Here are the three levels of politeness for the action "To Give", when giving is Outward Bound: Polite Casual Informal English
Sashiageru Ageru Yaru "give" Sashiageta Ageta Yatta "gave" Sashiagenai Agenai Yaranai "do not give" Sashiagenakatta Agenakatta Yaranakatta "did not give" 2. Inbound Giving Unlike Ageru, Kureru is the action of "giving" from the receiver's point of view. So when someone else is giving something to you or the speaker, use Kureru. In essence, it stands as the opposite action of Ageru. The giving moves INWARD, toward the speaker who is the recipient. Let's suppose you are the recipient of a gift, if the giver is equal or inferior to you, use... くれる Kureru you / he / she / them give[s] me If the giver is your superior, use... くださる Kudasaru you / he / she / them give[s] me くれる and くださる are "Give" verbs and so follow the pattern of Ga or Wa marking the Giver, Ni marking the Recipient, and O marking the Item given. かれはわたしにあめをくれる 彼は私に飴をくれる Kare WA watashi NI ame O kureru. He gives me sweets. Here are the two levels of politeness for the action "to give" when giving is INBOUND: Polite Kudasaru Kudasatta Kudasaranai Kudasaranakatta Casual Kureru Kureta Kurenai Kurenakatta English "give(s) [me]" "gave [me]" "does not give [me]" "did not give [me]" 3. Receiving Unlike the verbs for "Giving" which has two directions, "I give you" or Ageru, and "You give me" or Kureru, the action of Receiving is only oneway: "I receive," "You receive," "They receive" and so on. However, there are sill two ways to express the action of receiving depending in social status between the giver and the recipient. When the giver is superior that you, the recipient, then the proper word to use for "I receive" is: いただく Itadaku I / You / He / She / They receive[s]
In the usage of Itadaku "to receive", Wa marks the Recipient, Ni or Kara marks the Giver, and O marks the Item received. はははちちからおはなをいただく 母は からお花をいただく Haha WA chichi KARA ohana O itadaku. My mother receives flowers from my father. When the giver is your (the recipient's) social equal or inferior, use: もらう Morau I / You / He / She / They receive[s] For Morau as for Itadaku, Ga or Wa marks the Recipient, Ni or Kara marks the Giver, and O marks the Item received. わたしはかれにネックレスをもらう 私は彼にネックレスをもらう Watashi WA kare NI nekuresu O morau. I receive a necklace from him. Morau or it's polite equivalent Itadaku is used to say "Receive" and is used from the perspective of the receiver. Morau is also used in situations where no specific giver is identifiable, corresponding similarly to "take": もらっていこっ! Moratte iko! I'm gonna to take it! Here are the two levels of politeness for the action "to Receive": Polite Itadaku Itadaita Itadakanai Itadakanakatta Casual Morau Moratta Morawanai Morawanakatta English "I receive" "I received" "I do not receive" "I did not receive" A Sense Of Benefit The verbs あげる Ageru "I give," くれる Kureru "[someone] give me," もらう Morau "I receive" and other verbs of similar meaning are used with the Teform of an action when there is some sense of a benefit being given or received by the action taking place. a) TeAgeru In order to express the giving of a favor or an action, you must use the ever useful Teform and then attach あげる. In the following sentences, the verb Oshieru is translated as "tell" or "teach", but the Japanese equivalents differ: 教えてあげる Oshiete ageru. I will tell / teach you. This TeAgeru form implies that the speaker does the action for someone relatively close:
~Te Ageru / ~ てあげる "[do that action] for you / him / her / them" b) TeKureru When the speaker feels that she or he has benefited in some way, use the Teform of the action that has been benefited, and attach Kureru. ~Te Kureru / ~ てくれる 教えてくれる Oshiete kureru. "[do that action] for me" I am told / taught. TeKudasaru is used instead of TeKureru when the benefit of an action is given to the speaker by someone of superior social status: 教えてくださる Oshiete kudasaru. I am told / taught (by someone superior than me). c) TeMorau In the same way, the verb Morau "to receive" is used following a Teform to show that the speaker has benefited by someone's action. This form typically suggests: ~Te Morau / ~ てもらう 教えてもらう Oshiete morau ってもらう Itte morau 来てもらう Kite morau "get someone to [do the action]" or "have someone [do the action]" Get [someone] to tell/teach me Have [someone] say for me Have [someone] come for me Notice that the last sentence above may not be appropriate or acceptable if the person doing the "coming" is of higher status than the speaker in which case the verb used is likely to be the more polite Itadaku. 来ていただく Kite itadaku せていただく Misete itadaku Have [someone] come for me Have [someone] show me d) Other situations using Verbs for Benefit The following examples show other situations where the action of the verb is seen as beneficial to the speaker or listener, and so the Teform is followed by the verb of giving or receiving. You have forgotten your pen for the test today, so you ask...
貸してくれませんか? Kashite kuremasen ka? Won't you lend me [one]? Your partner never makes you lunch, but for some extraordinary reason, today's your lucky day... べんとうをつくってくれた! 弁当を作ってくれた! Bento o tsukutte kureta! She made me a boxedlunch! You find your friend's student ID on the school grounds so you wait for him near the front gate, as he approaches, you say... ひろってあげたよ! 拾ってあげたよ! Hirotte ageta yo! I picked it up for you! You've found something quite fascinating and want to share it with your friend... おもしろいものをみせてあげる い物を せてあげる Omoshiroi mono o misete ageru. I'll show you something interesting. When showing benefit with the verbs of giving and receiving, the benefit is not just limited to the speaker or listener directly. The benefit can also refer to someone relatively close to the speaker. For example, your younger brother has been picking up on Japanese words as he studies by your side. When your teacher hears him on the phone she was quite impressed... せんせいがおとうとのにほんごをほめてくれた The teacher praised my brother's Japanese. 先 が弟の 本語を褒めてくれた Sensē ga otōto no nihongo o homete kureta. Or, your son is learning all the polite manners, as is expected of him, and as a parent, you are proud... むすこがとしよりにせきをゆずってあげました My son gave his seat to an old person. 息 が年寄りに席を譲ってあげました Musuko ga toshiyori ni seki o yuzutte agemashita. Culture Dating Spots in Tokyo Despite being a very packed city, this popularcharming Asian big city, Tokyo, can be your first choice for romantic destination. Here are the top 5 Dating spots in Tokyo... 1. お台場 Odaiba 2. 現座 Ginza 3. 東京タワー Tokyō tawā 4. 渋 Shibuya 5. 六本 Roppongi
Have you ever been to お台場? This large artificial island is a seaport district with major commercial, residential and leisure area. If you've never been there... prepare to be hit by the 22nd Century!! With space age buildings which appear to be popping up one after the next, electric cars and fantasy shopping malls, Tokyo s newest district is futuristic and surreal. Watch out for the silent couples on the large Ferris wheel which is a popular, if not compulsory, dating spot. Yes, Odaiba is the home to one of the world's biggest Ferris wheel's. If you re not afraid of heights, it s surely worth paying 900 yen for a slowspinning 16 minute trip. The Rainbow Bridge crosses Tokyo Bay, connecting Odaiba to Tokyo is illuminated with red, white and green lights at night lit up by solar energy obtained during the day. Then picture this... a breathtaking night view of Tokyo, passing underneath the Rainbow Bridge, while eating sizzling Sukiyaki! You can enjoy it all in the Yakatabune, or Japanese traditional roofed pleasure boats. So it's blinking bridges, Sukiyaki dinners on roofed boats, the Ferris wheel and the faroff Tokyo skyline which ranks Odaiba as the top dating spot! On final note...there is also the Japanese version of the Statue of Liberty!! well a replica that is. You may have never been to New York, but at least you can say you've seen the Statue of Liberty! Well, the Odaiba version at least! Libros Media Ltd. Copyright 20042014 USA: 10660 Page Avenue, PO Box 1261, Fairfax, VA 22038, USA Phone: 7033490452 Asia/Pacific: 21008 Ferry Road, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand Phone: +6433846350