auxiliary N4 essential casualpolitewritten
〜てくれる — (someone) does ~ for me
〜てくれる ・ てくれる
Meaning
- (someone) does ~ for me / my in-group — a favor that comes the speaker's way
てくれる carries gratitude: it marks the action as a kindness the speaker received, even when the English translation is plain. Leaving it off (手伝った vs 手伝ってくれた) sounds colder, as if the favor weren't appreciated.
Key sentence
友達が宿題を手伝ってくれた。
My friend helped me with my homework.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (て-form) | V-て + くれる | 貸す → 貸してくれる |
Variants
〜てくださる — honorific: a superior does the favor for me — 教えてくださった
Examples
母が駅まで迎えに来てくれた。
My mother came to pick me up at the station.
先生が丁寧に説明してくれた。
The teacher explained it to me carefully.
Easily confused with
〜てあげる てくれる = a favor comes toward me (inward); てあげる = I extend a favor to someone else (outward). 〜てもらう Same event, different subject: てくれる makes the doer the subject ('my friend helped me'); てもらう makes me the subject ('I had my friend help'). てもらう implies I asked/arranged it; てくれる implies they did it of their own accord.
See 〜てくれる in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜てくれる 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, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.