贈る (おくる, okuru) Japanese meaning: give (as a gift) | Kotomora

贈おくる

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く

る

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

贈る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	贈おくる	贈おくらない
Polite	贈おくります	贈おくりません
Past polite	贈おくりました	贈おくりませんでした
Past	贈おくった	贈おくらなかった
Te-form	贈おくって	贈おくらないで
Desire	贈おくりたい	贈おくりたくない
Potential	贈おくれる	贈おくれない
Passive	贈おくられる	贈おくられない
Causative	贈おくらせる	贈おくらせない
Causative passive	贈おくらせられるalso 贈おくらされる	贈おくらせられないalso 贈おくらされない
Volitional	贈おくろう
Polite volitional	贈おくりましょう
Imperative	贈おくれ	贈おくるな
Conditional	贈おくれば	贈おくらなければ
Tara conditional	贈おくったら	贈おくらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

give (as a gift); present

Used for giving tangible gifts or presents to someone, often on special occasions.

母ははの日ひにカーネーションを贈おくった。

Kanji

贈presents, send, give to

Related words· 6

上あげるN5sense 1
あげる is the plain, everyday verb for giving anything, while 贈る is reserved for giving something as a gift or formal presentation.
プレゼントN4sense 1
プレゼントする is a casual loanword limited to giving presents, whereas 贈る also covers formal bestowals like awards and titles.
授さずけるN1sense 2
授ける stresses a superior granting something valuable (knowledge, skill, title) to a subordinate, while 贈る is neutral about the social relationship.
贈ぞう呈てい sense 1
贈呈する is a stiffer, more ceremonial word for presenting a gift or award, used in formal announcements where 贈る sounds slightly less official.

Show 2 more

進しん呈ていN1
贈る is the everyday, general verb for giving or sending a gift, whereas 進呈 is a formal, noun-based expression used as 進呈する in business or promotional contexts.
差さし上あげるN4
贈る is a neutral word for presenting a gift, while 差し上げる adds humility, marking the recipient as socially superior to the speaker.

Opposites

もらうN5sense 1
贈る means to give something to someone, while もらう means to receive something from someone, marking the opposite direction of the exchange.

Politeness

差さし上あげるhumble 謙譲語N4sense 1
差し上げる is the humble form used when giving something to a social superior, while 贈る is the neutral verb for gift-giving without that politeness marking.

Don't confuse with

送おくるN5sense 1
送る (same reading) means to send something or someone off, whereas 贈る specifically means to give as a gift or formal award.

Word family

贈おくり物ものN4
present; gift
贈おくり主ぬし
sender of a gift; gift giver
贈おくり号ごう
posthumous Buddhist name
贈おくり名な
posthumous name; posthumous title

Written forms

贈おくるUsage93%
Standard kanji spelling for giving gifts, awards, or bestowing.
おくるUsage7%

Etymology

The kanji 贈 combines 貝 (shell, money) and 曾 (formerly, increase), suggesting the act of giving valuables. The verb おくる is native Japanese and has been associated with this kanji for gift-giving and conferring.

贈おくる

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions