N4 · UNIT 2

Giving & Receiving

Japanese has three verbs for "give" and the choice depends on which way the gift moves. あげる, もらう, くれる, and their て-form cousins that turn any action into a favor.

About this unit

Gift-giving runs Japanese social life, and the grammar mirrors it: three giving verbs that track direction like arrows, あげる pointing away from you, くれる pointing at you, もらう pulling inward. Master the triangle here, because the て-form versions (～てくれる, favors done for you) appear in nearly every conversation Japanese people have. Maria is back from Kyoto with a bag full of omiyage, perfect timing.

語彙 · Vocabulary 36 words · 10 kanji

1

Read the words

Read straight down the list once, out loud if you can. Don't grind them here, the Anki deck at the bottom does the memorizing. Right now you only want the shapes and sounds to feel familiar.

WordReadingMeaning
to give (outward)
to receive
to give (to me/us)
to give (humble)
to receive (humble)
to give to me (honorific)
to lend
to borrow
to send
to hold; to carry
present; gift
sweets; snacks
money
goods; merchandise
luggage; package
bookshop
flower shop
bakery
department store
convenience store
shop clerk
customer; guest
to sell
shopping
price
free (no cost)
thanks; token of gratitude
return gift
to wrap
to choose
birthday
Christmas
New Year's gift money
card
letter
postage stamp
2

Learn the kanji

The 10 kanji for this unit. Tap any card to flip between its meaning and its readings, and say the reading aloud as it flips.

lend
borrow
send
hold; carry
goods; article
thing
shop; roof
store
sell
substitute; fee; generation
3

Read it in context

Everything above, working together. Read the conversation top to bottom, out loud. Every line is built only from words and kanji you have already met, so resist the English, tap a word only if you are truly stuck.

Show English

Maria is back from Kyoto, and in Japan, coming back from a trip means one thing. She finds Mr. Tanaka in the classroom.

マリア
Mr. Tanaka, here, a souvenir from Kyoto. Please.
たなか
What, for me? Thank you! Oh, sweets!
マリア
Yes. I bought them at a shop near the inn. I gave Yamada-sensei tea.
たなか
Did you receive anything in Kyoto, Maria?
マリア
Yes, the inn staff gave me a beautiful card. And my mother sent me a Japan guidebook.
たなか
What a good mom. Oh, that reminds me, I'll lend you this book. It's about Kyoto's temples.
マリア
Are you sure? Thank you! I'll return it next week.
たなか
No rush at all.
マリア
You're always so kind. Next time, I'll cook you food from my country!
Notice: every giving verb is an arrow. お茶をあげました, Maria gave outward. カードをもらいました, she received inward. 送ってくれました, her mother did her a favor, and くれる marks that the kindness landed on the speaker. Get the arrows right and Japanese people will say your Japanese sounds 日本人みたい.
Stop, learn the vocabulary before the grammar

These units are short on purpose. The grammar only clicks when the words are already automatic, so front-load the deck here, and let spaced repetition do the memorizing while the lesson does the teaching.

  1. Import this unit's deck. Generate it with npm run content:deck, then import n4-unit2-deck.apkg into Anki or Migaku. (SRS connection status lives on your dashboard.)
  2. Learn all 36 words as new cards. Get through the whole deck in a sitting or two, you're aiming for recognition, not mastery yet.
  3. Review daily until every card reaches a 3–5 day interval. When the whole deck has settled at that spacing, the words are holding on their own and won't fight you during the grammar.
  4. Then come back. You'll read the patterns instead of decoding the words, and that's when a "small" unit actually soaks in.
Anki open with AnkiConnect? I can confirm the deck for you.

Tick the box above once the deck is soaking in, then the grammar unlocks.

文法 · Grammar 4 patterns

Take one pattern at a time. Read the rule, then read each example out loud until the shape feels obvious. The words should already be automatic from your deck, so all you are learning here is how they lock together.

Quick suggestion: write these patterns down by hand as you read them. It is the one habit that textbook learners and self-taught immersion learners both swear by, and a notebook is the cheapest memory upgrade there is. Not required, just recommended.
The outward and inward arrows. AはBに〜をあげます, A gives to B (away from speaker). AはBに〜をもらいます, A receives from B. With もらう, に marks the source.
I gave Mr. Tanaka a souvenir.
Maria received a card from the inn staff.
Note: The source with もらう can be に or から: 母にもらいました／母からもらいました. Use から when the giver is an organization, 学校からもらいました.
The arrow that points at YOU. When someone gives to the speaker (or the speaker's family), あげる is wrong, Japanese switches to くれる. 〜さんが私に…をくれました.
Mr. Tanaka gave me sweets.
My older sister gave my little sister her old camera.
Note: Never say 私にあげます, that's the arrow pointing the wrong way. If the thing arrives at you or your family, it's くれる. This is the single most common giving-verb mistake learners make.
The same three arrows, now carrying ACTIONS as favors. 貸してあげます, I'll do you the favor of lending. 送ってくれました, they kindly sent it (to me). 書いてもらいました, I got someone to write it.
My mother (kindly) sent me a guidebook.
I had a friend take the photo for me.
Note: てくれる is how Japanese says thanks inside the grammar itself, てつだってくれて、ありがとう. One caution: てあげます said to someone's face can sound condescending, like you're keeping score. To offer help, plain ～ましょうか is safer.
The formal versions you'll hear constantly: もらう→いただく (humble), くれる→くださる (honorific). Recognize them now; full honorific grammar comes at N3.
I received a book from my teacher. (humble)
My teacher kindly gave me sweets. (honorific)
Note: You already know the most famous form: いただきます before a meal, literally “I humbly receive.” The word you've said before every meal since Unit 3 was this grammar all along.

文化 · Culture note

A short read on the world these words live in. Nothing to drill here, just the context that makes the grammar feel like something people actually say.

The Economy of Small Gifts

Japan runs a quiet, constant economy of small gifts. Return from any trip and coworkers expect おみやげ; visit a home and you bring a てみやげ; receive a gift and an お返し, a return gift, ideally worth about half, comes back to you within the month. On Valentine's Day women give chocolate to men, and exactly one month later, on White Day, the return gifts flow back. None of this is written down anywhere, and everyone keeps effortless track of all of it.

How you hand things over matters as much as the thing. Gifts are given and received with both hands, often with a small self-deprecating phrase, つまらないものですが, “it's nothing much”, even when it is very much something. A first refusal is polite reflex, not rejection: offer twice. And gifts are traditionally not opened in front of the giver, though younger people increasingly ask あけてもいいですか.

The numbers have opinions too. Gift sets come in threes and fives; four (し = death) and nine (く = suffering) are avoided, no four-piece gift boxes exist in Japan. Money for weddings goes in special envelopes in crisp, new bills; money for funerals in used ones. When in doubt at a depāto gift counter, just say おくりものです, the staff will wrap it perfectly, because in Japan the wrapping is part of the gift.

Try it: Give something small to a Japanese-speaking friend this week, and narrate it silently: あげました. When they text thanks, notice the shape they use, it will almost certainly contain てくれて.

生教材 · Immersion 3 assignments · real Japanese, on rails

This week in the wild

Giving-verbs are the connective tissue of daily conversation, every anime episode, every vlog, every conversation about family is full of くれる and もらう. Your missions this week train your ear to catch the arrows in flight.

You will not understand everything, that is the point. Success is recognizing this unit's patterns in the wild, not full comprehension. Tick what you tried and move on.

発話 · Speaking 8 ghost drills · say it out loud

Ghosting

The giving triangle only becomes automatic when your mouth has drilled the arrows. Ghost these lines, then build your own, one thing you gave, one you received, one favor someone did for you this week.

Three passes per line: listen, speak along with the voice (that's the ghost), then speak alone. Out loud, whispering doesn't build the muscle. Prompt drills show English first: answer in Japanese before revealing.

Here, a souvenir from Kyoto. Please take it.
I gave Yamada-sensei tea.
My mother kindly sent me a Japan guidebook.
I had a friend take a photo for me.
Say it in Japanese: I gave my friend a present.
Hint: The outward arrow, あげます, recipient marked with に.
Say it in Japanese: Mr. Tanaka kindly lent me a book.
Hint: The favor landed on you, て-form + くれました.
Say it in Japanese: I got a sweater from my mother.
Hint: Receiving, もらいました, source marked with に.
Say it in Japanese: Next time, I'll cook for you.
Hint: Offering a favor, て-form + あげます.

Audio uses your browser's Japanese voice. If you hear nothing, your system may need a Japanese voice installed, read the lines aloud from the text instead; the ghost pass still works.

練習 · Worksheet 8 exercises

Type each missing word in hiragana, then check your answers.

Check your answers to continue, it doesn't matter how many you miss.

Unit Quiz JLPT FORMAT

Pass mark 80% · instant explanations · passing unlocks the next unit