Let's talk about presents, considering the difference between giving, receiving, and receiving! / Japanese Learning Support LLC | blog

What is the difference between give, give me, and receive?

Make sure you understand the differences between "uchi" and "soto" and master the differences between "agemasu," "kuremasu," and "moraumasu"!

At birthday parties or when you come back from a trip, you often give other people sweets or souvenirs.

What do you say in Japanese in this situation?

This time, let's take a look at the differences between the Japanese phrases "agemasu," "kuremasu," and "moraumasu"!

[Give]

If you were to translate it simply into English it would be "Give," but there are a few more rules for the Japanese word "agemasu."

Let's look at some example sentences first.

Sample1 I gave my friend some French wine for his birthday.

Sample2 I'm going to give this souvenir to my mother.

Sample 3: My friend is getting married soon. What do you think I should give him?

Sample 4: It's a bit strange to give those flowers to someone who's hospitalized.

Sample5 Your child's birthday is coming up soon. Are you going to give him a present?

In sentences that use "I will give it to you," pay attention to the subject.

In the sentences Sample1 to Sample3, who took the "I will give it to you" action?

"Me", right?

In this way, "I" is often the subject in "I will give it to you" sentences.

The reason for this is related to the cultural characteristics of the Japanese language, "inside" and "outside."

●What are “uchi” and “soto”?

In Japanese, people who are closer to us are called "uchi" and people who are more distantly related to us are called "soto," and the words are used to distinguish between them.

Let's compare the four options below. Please arrange these four options in order of how closely they relate to you.

・Family ・Friends/colleagues ・You ・Strangers/friends of friends

Rearranging the above four, we get

① yourself → ② family → ③ friends/colleagues → ④ strangers/friends of friends

Do you know what the order is like?

Of course, I am the person closest to me.

After that there is blood family, then friends, and the furthest of all there are strangers.

This is "inside" and "outside."

We think of people who are close to us as "inside" and people who are far away as "outside."

Going back to the numbers above, the smaller number (closer to ①) would be "uchi" (inside) and the larger number (closer to ④) would be "soto" (outside).

The verb "agemasu" is used when something is moving from "inside" to "outside."

In other words, if "I" goes "mother," then "I" is "inside" and mother is "outside."

I gave the gloves to my mother.

The sentence becomes:

On the other hand, if an object is moving from "mother" to "me," it becomes "mother (outside)" to "me (inside)," so the verb "agemasu" cannot be used.

×My mother gave me a handkerchief.

The verb "agemasu" cannot be used when someone "outsider" hands something over to someone "inside."

And more...

×My friend gave my younger brother some chocolate.

(From my perspective, my friend is "outsider" and my brother is "inside")

×Today, an old lady I didn't know gave me some tissues.

(I am "inside" and the unknown old lady is "outside")

So, what should you do if you want to say these sentences?

[Give]

Earlier, I said that you use "agemasu" when moving something from "home" to "outside."

To do the opposite, moving something from "outside" to "inside," you use "kuremasu."

Sample1 My friend gave my younger brother some chocolate.

Sample 2 Today, an old lady I didn't know gave me some tissues.

Sample3 My mother gave me this watch for my birthday.

Sample 4 Wow! The manager gave me such good wine? That's nice.

"Kuremasu" is used when something is moved from "soto" (someone far away from you) to "uchi" (someone close to you).

The subject is a person "outside," so the sentence "I gave it to you" cannot be made.

× I gave my father a travel bag.

(I am "inside" and my father is "outside")

× My mother gave some cookies to my friend.

(From my perspective, my mother is "Uchi" and my friends are "Soto")

[I'll get it]

"Moradomasu" means "Receive."

It is used when someone "inside" receives something from someone "outside."

It's the movement from "inside" to "outside."

If we look at the direction of movement of the object, it is similar to "kuremasu" (to give), but "moraimasu" focuses on the recipient of the object, so the recipient is the subject.

Sample1 (I) received a bicycle from my brother.

Sample2 I received this game from a friend last year.

Sample 3: My younger brother apparently received a New Year's gift from his uncle.

Sample4: Did your boyfriend give you that bag? It's worth 100,000 yen!

When you say "I received it," the recipient of the item is the subject.

Also, the recipient (subject) is someone from "our house."

So please note that you cannot use sentences like the following:

× My sister gave me some clothes.

(From my perspective, my sister is "outsider" and I am "inside")

× The manager's wife apparently received a necklace from the manager.

(From my perspective, the manager's wife is "soto" and the manager is closer to me, so I call him "uchi").

Today's Summary

Today we talked about the differences between "agemasu" (to give), "kuremasu" (to give), and "to receive."

To sum it up…

[Give] "Inside" → "Outside" I gave a book to my sister.

[Give] "outside" → "inside" My father gave me a computer.

[Receive] "Home" ← "Outside" My father gave me a computer.

It looks like this.

But if you still think it's too complicated or difficult, try making up a sentence and memorizing the whole sentence.

Then, try reading some easy Japanese books!

Context makes things easier to remember!

Well, that's all for today!

See you in the next blog!