てあげる details
write + (and…) + do for someone
kaite ageru
do (something) for someone
meaning: write for them
駅まで傘、貸してあげるよ。
eki made kasa, kashite ageru yo.
I'll lend you my umbrella as far as the station. casual
甥っ子たちに会うと、絵本を読んであげる。
oikkotachi ni au to, ehon o yonde ageru.
Whenever I see my nephews, I read a picture book for them. neutral
- colloquial
- formal
- past
- polite
Examples
do for someone — a favor flowing outward from the speaker's side
駅まで傘、貸してあげるよ。
eki made kasa, kashite ageru yo.
I'll lend you my umbrella as far as the station. casual
甥っ子たちに会うと、絵本を読んであげる。
oikkotachi ni au to, ehon o yondeageru.
Whenever I see my nephews, I read a picture book for them. neutral
留学生に携帯の契約を手伝ってあげました。
ryuugakusei ni keitai no keiyaku o tetsudatte agemashita.
I helped an exchange student sort out her phone contract. neutral
息子に新しい自転車を買ってやった。
musuko ni atarashii jitensha o katte yatta.
I bought my son a new bike. casual
Formation
{V-te}あげるattaches to て-form
Variant notes
- てやる — rough or downward — kids, pets, plants; also defiant resolve (見[み]てろ、やってやる)
- てさしあげる — humble giving upward, but praising your own favor — service keigo uses it sparingly
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
The same favor described from opposite banks — あげる tracks benefit flowing away from the speaker's side, くれる benefit flowing into it; Japanese picks the verb by direction of the favor where English reuses one "do for".
Giver-subject vs receiver-subject — 貸してあげた foregrounds the giver's kindness and can read as credit-claiming, 貸してもらった foregrounds the receiver and usually implies the favor was invited.
Both frame an act done for another — お持ちする humbles the doer and is the safe upward form; 持ってあげる credits the doer and patronizes upward, which is exactly when speakers must switch to お〜する.