honorific N4 common politewritten sonkeigo (respectful)
くださる — honorific of くれる: (a superior) gives to me/us
くださる
Meaning
- the honorific (尊敬語) form of くれる — a respected person gives something to me or my in-group
Key sentence
先生が辞書をくださった。
The teacher gave me a dictionary.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| giver が, recipient (me) に, thing を | [respected giver] が [me/in-group] に [thing] をくださる | 部長がお土産をくださいました |
Variants
くださいます — the polite form; note the irregular くださ**い**ます, not ×くださります
Examples
社長がお祝いの言葉をくださいました。
The president gave me words of congratulation.
先輩が古い教科書をくださった。
My senior gave me an old textbook.
わざわざお越しくださり、ありがとうございます。
Thank you for kindly coming all this way.
When you can't use it
- The receiver must be the speaker's side and the giver someone you elevate. For a gift going *from* you to a superior, switch to the humble さしあげる, not くださる.
Easily confused with
Notes
- The request ending 〜てください('please do ~') and the word ください('please give me') are the imperative of this verb.
See くださる in real sentences
Jengo shows くださる the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.