auxiliary N4 common politewritten sonkeigo (respectful)
てくださる — someone kindly does ~ for me
てくださる
Builds on て形
Meaning
- (a respected person) kindly does ~ for me — the honorific (尊敬語) benefactive built on くれる
Key sentence
先生が宿題を手伝ってくださった。
The teacher kindly helped me with my homework.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb te-form | [respected doer] が [verb-て] + くださる | 道を教えてくださる |
Variants
てくださいます — polite form; irregular くださ**い**ます. The request 〜てください is its imperative.
Examples
社長がわざわざ会いに来てくださいました。
The president kindly came all the way to see me.
先輩が間違いを直してくださった。
My senior kindly corrected my mistakes.
お忙しいところ、お時間を取ってくださり感謝します。
Thank you for making time despite how busy you are.
When you can't use it
- The doer is someone you elevate and the beneficiary is you/your in-group. For a favor *you* do for a superior, switch to the humble お〜する, not てくださる.
Easily confused with
See てくださる in real sentences
Jengo shows てくださる 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.