How to tell them apart
The core contrast is viewpoint: who is the giver and who is the receiver relative to the speaker. あげる means someone gives outward to an equal or out-group person, so it never describes someone giving to the speaker. くれる specifically means someone gives to the speaker or someone the speaker empathizes with. もらう flips the subject: the receiver is the focus, framed as receiving from someone else. Swapping them changes whose side the sentence is told from, e.g. 私は彼に本をあげた vs 彼が私に本をくれた vs 私が彼に本をもらった.
- あげる Use あげる when the giver is the subject and the receiver is an equal or out-group person, never the speaker.
- 呉れる・くれる Use くれる when someone gives something to the speaker or to someone the speaker empathizes with.
- もらう Use もらう when the receiver is the subject and the sentence focuses on receiving from someone else.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| あげる ageru | To hand over or present something to another person | N5 |
| 呉れる・くれる reru kureru | to hand or do something for the speaker's benefit | N4 |
| もらう morau | Get something from someone; have a person do something for you | N4 |
あげる ageru
To hand over or present something to another person
あげる means to give something to someone, typically a person of equal or lower social standing relative to the speaker. It follows a noun marked with the particle を, as in チョコレートをあげる, and is used in both casual and polite speech.
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バレンタインにみんなにチョコレートをあげるのはやめよう。
I'll stop giving them chocolate on Valentine's Day.
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これらのチケットを、ほしい人ならだれでもあげるつもりだ。
I will give these tickets to whoever wants them.
呉れる・くれる reru kureru
to hand or do something for the speaker's benefit
くれる means someone gives or does something for the speaker's benefit. It follows the te-form of a verb, as in 作ってくれる or 読んでくれる, and can also be used on its own. The examples show it in both plain and polite contexts, often with くれる marking an action done as a favor to me.
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母が私にバースデーケーキを作ってくれるだろう。
My mother will make me a birthday cake.
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母は私の望むものは何でも言わなくてもかなえてくれる。
My mother anticipates all my desires.
もらう morau
Get something from someone; have a person do something for you
もらう means to receive something, and with the te-form of a verb (て + もらう) it means having someone do something for you, with the doer marked by に. It can also be used literally for receiving things or even catching a disease from someone, as in 病気をもらう.
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明日は、７時にモーニングコールをかけてもらうことにしよう。
Let's arrange for a 7:00 a.m. wake-up call.
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人間が、動物から病気をもらうことは、まれではあるがありうる。
It's possible, though rare, for humans to catch diseases from animals.
あげる and 呉れる・くれる and もらう are JLPT N5–N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares all 3 side by side on meanings, usage and example sentences, so you can tell them apart.