くれる

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 兄が私におもちゃをくれた。▶ —
   My older brother gave me a toy.
2. 先生が手伝ってくれました。▶ —
   The teacher helped me (kindly).

Collocations

Mnemonic

Kureru (くれる) is an ichidan verb — gives toward the speaker (or speaker's in-group), the inward partner of ageru. Honorific: kudasaru (くださる) — "sensei ga kudasatta" (the teacher kindly gave). The auxiliary ~te kureru is essential — ani ga tetsudatte kureta (my brother helped me, as a favor) is at the heart of Japanese gratitude grammar. English "did me a favor" and Korean ~hae jweot-da share the meaning but Japanese inflects the verb itself. Note: "sensei ga watashi ni kureta" and "watashi wa sensei ni moratta" describe the same event from different perspectives. Higher-status giver → kudasaru (honorific), equal → kureru, lower → kureru casual.

Quick check

1. Honorific for "a teacher giving to the speaker"?

   • Kudasaru — superior gives to speaker
   • Itadaku — speaker humbly receives
   • Ageru — outward
   • Yaru — to plants / animals