てくれる details
write + (and…) + do for me
kaite kureru
do (something) for me; someone kindly does
meaning: write for me
先輩が昼ごはん、おごってくれる！
senpai ga hirugohan, ogotte kureru!
My senpai picks up the tab for me at lunch! casual
留守のとき、隣の人が荷物を預かってくれる。
rusu no toki, tonari no hito ga nimotsu o azukatte kureru.
When I'm out, my neighbor holds my packages for me. neutral
- formal
- past
- polite
- negative
Examples
someone does (something) for me or my side — favor flowing inward
先輩が昼ごはん、おごってくれた！
senpai ga hirugohan, ogottekureta!
My senpai picked up the tab for me at lunch! casual
留守のとき、隣の人が荷物を預かってくれる。
rusu no toki, tonari no hito ga nimotsu o azukattekureru.
When I'm out, my neighbor holds my packages for me. neutral
道に迷っていたら、知らない人が駅まで案内してくれました。
michi ni mayotte itara, shiranai hito ga eki made annai shite kuremashita.
When I was lost, a stranger guided me all the way to the station. neutral
皆さまが温かく迎えてくださり、心から感謝しております。
minasama ga atatakaku mukaete kudasari, kokoro kara kansha shite orimasu.
I am deeply grateful that you have all welcomed me so warmly. formal
Formation
{V-te}くれるattaches to て-form
Variant notes
- てくださる — honorific giver — 先生[せんせい]が説明[せつめい]してくださった; ます-form is てくださいます
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
One event, flipped viewpoint — 友達が教えてくれた makes the giver the subject and paints spontaneous kindness; 友達に教えてもらった makes the receiver the subject and hints they sought the favor out. Both encode gratitude.
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".
Lookalikes
Same benefactive family, different speech act — てください requests a not-yet act, てくれる／てくださった reports a favor already done; since ください is くださる's imperative, learners misread polite statements as requests.
Shared てくれ core split by sentence type — てくれませんか (casual てくれない？) requests a future favor, while flat てくれない states someone WON'T do it; in speech only か and rising intonation separate plea from complaint.