Japanese/Lessons/Giving and Receiving

There are several ways to express giving and receiving depending on which side the speaker is on, but also depending on whether someone of higher or lower rank is being addressed.

Giving


When expressing that someone gives to someone else (but not you), use the form of:

When others give you, use either:

The polite form is "くださる" while "くれる" is of neutral politeness and most commonly used. You will often use this verb when you've gotten something from someone who isn't currently there.

Receiving
When expressing that someone receives from someone else, use a form of:

Although に is slightly more casual, you can use both に and から when you receive some physical objecs. For actions, you can only use に. Use から when you wish to emphasize the giver.

The verb いただく is a humble verb, and is used when you receive something from a superior or wish to show respect.

Example:

Actions
When the object being given or received is an action (and thus expressed by a verb) you can attach use it in the て-form in place of the object. Note that for receiving an action, you cannot use "から".

Examples for giving, "I washed the car for her," or, "I did the laundry for him." Here are some examples in Japanese:

Examples for receiving, "The dentist examined my teeth for me," or "Mom cleaned up my room for me." Here are some examples: