How to use ～ていただきます・～てくださいます｜JLPT N4 Grammar｜Minna no Nihongo Lesson 41 (みんなの日本語41課)

2025/11/28

When you want to show respect, gratitude, or both toward someone’s action, Japanese uses special honorific and humble forms. At the N4 level, two important patterns are 〜ていただきます and 〜てくださいます.
These expressions describe the same situation—someone does something for someone else. But they differ in the speaker’s point of view. Understanding this difference helps you speak more politely and naturally.

When and How It’s Used

Both 〜ていただきます and 〜てくださいます are used when another person performs an action that benefits you. They express respect for the person who performs the action and often include a sense of gratitude.

Same situation, different viewpoint

Although both patterns can describe the same event, the speaker’s viewpoint changes:

• 〜ていただきます expresses the action from the receiver’s viewpoint.
  The speaker sees themselves or their in-group as receiving kindness. It is a humble expression.
  
• 〜てくださいます expresses the action from the doer’s viewpoint.
  The speaker highlights the person who performs the action. It is an honorific expression.
  

Because of this difference, in conversation you choose the form depending on whose perspective you want to emphasize.

Typical situations

Use these expressions when:

• Someone does something kind or helpful for you
  
• You want to politely report what another person has done
  
• You want to show respect when describing someone’s action to a third person
  

For example, receiving help from a teacher, a boss, or a customer often requires one of these forms.

See How it’s used in conversation

This video will help you understand how is used ～ていただきます・～てくださいます in everyday Japanese conversations. Watch and repeat to improve your listening and speaking skills!

Sentence Pattern

〜ていただきます　te itadakimasu

•  [You or your group]は＋[Person] に／から ＋ Verb て-form ＋ いただきます
  
• Humble form → used when you or your group receive an action.
  

〜てくださいます 　te kudasaimasu

• [Person] が／は （＋ [You or your group]に）＋ Verb て-form ＋ くださいます
  
• Honorific form → used when the other person performs the action.
  

Both patterns can be used in present, past, or future contexts.

Examples

1. わたしは先生に日本語を教えていただきます。
   watashi wa sensei ni nihongo o oshiete itadakimasu.
   I will receive guidance from my teacher.

 →Receiver’s viewpoint. You are humble toward the teacher.

2. 日本語文：先生が（わたしに）日本語を教えてくださいます。
   Sensei ga (watashi ni) nihongo o oshiete kudasaimasu.
   My teacher kindly teaches me.

→Doer’s viewpoint. You honor the teacher’s action.

3. わたしは部長に書類を直していただきました。
   Watashi wa buchō ni shorui o naoshite itadakimashita.
   The department manager corrected the documents for me.

 →You focus on receiving help from the department manager with gratitude.

4. 部長が書類を直してくださいました。
   Buchō ga shorui o naoshite kudasaimashita.
   The department manager kindly corrected the documents.

 →You highlight the manager’s respected action.

In Summary

〜ていただきます and 〜てくださいます both describe a helpful or considerate action performed by someone else. The key difference is whose perspective you highlight:

• 〜ていただきます → humble, focuses on your side receiving kindness
  
• 〜てくださいます → honorific, focuses on the other person performing the action
  

Using these forms correctly helps you speak with appropriate politeness in Japanese workplaces, schools, and daily interactions. They allow you to show respect and gratitude naturally—an essential skill for smooth communication in Japanese.

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