あげる
あげる
hepburn ageru
to give (outward)
Part of speech · ichidan-verb
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 誕生日に友達にプレゼントをあげました。I gave a present to my friend for their birthday.
- この本、あなたにあげる。This book, I'll give it to you.
Collocations
あげる (ageru, give outward)もらう (morau, receive)くれる (kureru, give inward)プレゼント (purezento, present)差し上げる (sashiageru, humbly give)
Mnemonic
Ageru (あげる) is an ichidan verb — the speaker (or in-group) gives outward. The core of Japanese juju-doushi (授受動詞, "give-receive verbs") triad: ageru (give outward), kureru (give inward, toward speaker), morau (receive). English and Korean "give" goes both ways, but Japanese enforces direction. Watashi wa tomodachi ni ageru (I give to friend, outward) vs tomodachi ga watashi ni kureru (friend gives to me, inward). Formality ladder: ageru (plain) → sashiageru (humble, "humbly offer") → yaru (to animals / plants or rough register). Mizu o yaru (water the plant), okyaku-sama ni sashiageru (offer to a customer). Korean ju-da / deuri-da / meogida 3-tier register parallels.
Quick check
Natural verb for watering a plant?