Learn Japanese – Give and receive in Japanese with Ageru

Learn Japanese easily! You are really getting used to these Japanese give and take verbs! Now is the time to focus on aged. If you want to say things like: “I bought my son a bike”, this is the verb for you! In this Low Intermediate Japanese article, you will find detailed information about the verb aged. We use it to express that someone gives something to another person. Be sure to check out the helpful examples and see which ones you can incorporate into your Japanese.

Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

urayamashii – “envious, enviable”

seikaku – “character, personality”

a – “adjust, adapt”

otonashii – “quiet, soft, gentle”

waza waza – “taking so much trouble”

Kaesu – “to return something”

tsurete iku – “to take someone” (verb 1)

manmei – “favorite, someone you really like”

Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

ageru is a class two verb that we use to express that someone gives something to someone. When aged follow the –your form of another verb, it acts as an auxiliary verb meaning “to do something for someone else”. Note that the recipients are not members of the doer’s internal group. (If the beneficiaries are members of the maker’s group, use “verb-te kureru”, which we explained in the previous lesson.) We mark the doer with any of the particles wow Prayed Georgiawhile marking the beneficiary with any of the particles neither, either, Prayed a (depending on the verb you use). Remember that the author of the action and the recipient of the action should have approximately the same status.

Example 1 expresses that Keisuke is asking Koji, “Don’t you eat this chocolate to please her? Because she made it for you and she must be happy when you eat it.”

Example 2, the context of the conversation is that Fuyuka gave Koji a chocolate on Valentine’s Day. Keisuke then asks if Koji will give Fuyuka something in exchange for her because he owes her something from her and he wants to make her happy. The beneficiary in this example is Fuyuka marked with the particle neither because the main verb Kaesu (“back”) goes with the particle neither.

Example 3 he expresses that Koji is going to take Fuyuka to the movies as a token of thanks because she gave him a chocolate on Valentine’s Day. The beneficiary in this example is Fuyuka marked with the particle oh because the main verb tsureteiku goes with the particle oh.

In these three examples, we cannot replace the verb aged with the verb kureru because the beneficiary is neither the speaker nor a person in the speaker’s group.

1. Example 1:
   Table agenai right?

   “Aren’t you going to eat this for her?”

2. Example 2:
   Fuyuka-chan ni nani ka kaeshite ageru no?

   “Are you going to give Fuyuka something in return?”

3. Example 3:
   Fuyuka-chan o eigakan et tsurete itte ageru n da.

   “I’m going to take her to the movies.”

Training

[doer] Washington [beneficiary] neither (or, to) verb-your + aged

Examples:

1. Kyooko-san wa Mearii-san ni o-kane o kashite agemashita.
   “Kyoko delays Mary’s money.”

2. Otooto wa tomodachi o kuukoo did okutte ageta.
   “My brother took his friend to the airport.”

3. Watashi wa musuko ni jitensha or katte ageta.
   “I bought a bike for my son.”