～てくれる
receive favor from outsider
～てくれる is made by taking the て-form of a verb and adding くれる (“to give (to me)”). It shows that someone does the action as a favor for the speaker or for someone in the speaker’s group.
English often leaves this unsaid, so the closest translation is adding “for me” or “kindly”: the pattern carries a feeling of gratitude toward the person who acted.
1. A favor done for you
The person doing the favor is the subject, marked with が. The favor flows toward you.
友達が手伝ってくれた。
“My friend helped me out.”
- 友達（ともだち）= friend
- が = subject marker (the person doing the favor)
- 手伝ってくれた（てつだってくれた）= helped (me)
母がお弁当を作ってくれました。
“My mother made me a boxed lunch.”
- 母（はは）= my mother
- が = subject marker
- お弁当（おべんとう）= boxed lunch
- を = object marker
- 作ってくれました（つくってくれました）= made (for me)
2. Asking for a favor
In the negative question form ～てくれませんか (casually ～てくれる？), the pattern becomes a friendly request.
ちょっと待ってくれませんか。
“Could you wait a moment for me?”
- ちょっと = a little / a moment
- 待ってくれませんか（まってくれませんか）= won’t you wait (for me)?
Compare with ～てもらう: in ～てくれる the helper is the subject (友達が手伝ってくれた = My friend helped me), while in ～てもらう the receiver is the subject and the helper takes に (友達に手伝ってもらった = I (implied) received help from a friend). Both describe the same event from different sides.
How to form it
Verb て-form + くれる
- 手伝う（てつだう）= to help → 手伝ってくれる（てつだってくれる）= helps me
- 作る（つくる）= to make → 作ってくれる（つくってくれる）= makes (something) for me
- 教える（おしえる）= to teach → 教えてくれる（おしえてくれる）= teaches me / tells me
Key idea
くれる means giving toward you. Adding it after the て-form says: someone did this action, the benefit came to me, and I appreciate it.
Built on the same stem
Updated .