← Back to Japanese course
LEARN + JAPANESE / 97 of 186 JLPT N4

Doing Favors 〜てあげる・てくれる・てもらう

Your friend carries your bag, and you make dinner for them in return. あげる, くれる, and もらう attach to a て-form to show who gives or receives the favor, just as they do with objects.

Hint · 힌트
These two sentences describe the exact same event from opposite sides, exactly like plain あげる and もらう did with objects. てあげる puts the giver of the favor as the subject; てもらう puts the receiver as the subject, with に marking whoever did the actual favor.
Hint · 힌트
てくれる always centers the speaker, or someone close to the speaker, as the one benefiting, which is why 予約してくれました naturally implies “for me” even without saying so directly. Compare 予約してあげました, which would instead describe the speaker doing a favor for someone else.
Hint · 힌트
Careful with あげる toward someone above you socially, saying してあげました can sound like you’re bragging about the favor. くれる and もらう carry no such risk, which is why they’re used more freely across all levels of politeness.

With a causative verb + てもらう, the speaker receives permission or an opportunity to do the action. In formal speech, させていただく is a humble version used when the speaker wants to sound especially respectful.

In Real Life
This is useful when asking for flexibility at work or school. The speaker presents the action as something the other person grants; in a formal request, 帰らせていただいてもよろしいでしょうか is more deferential, though it can sound overly formal for a small everyday favor.

Vocabulary

JapaneseEnglish

YOUR PROGRESS

Finished this lesson?

Save your place in this course.