Grammar › Giving & Receiving
てもらう — having someone do something for you
Describes receiving a favor, viewed from the receiver's side — “I had them do X”
てもらう flips the perspective of てあげる: it's used when you benefit from someone else's action, framed as “I received the favor of them doing X.” The person doing the action is marked with に: 田中さんに手伝ってもらいました (Tanaka helped me / I had Tanaka help me).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Person(に) + te-form + もらう | 友達に手伝ってもらいました — My friend helped me |
| Request form | 手伝ってもらえますか — Could you help me? |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先生に漢字を直してもらいました。 | せんせいにかんじをなおしてもらいました。 senseinikanjiwonaoshitemoraimashita。 | I had the teacher correct my kanji. |
| 友達に空港まで送ってもらいました。 | ともだちにくうこうまでおくってもらいました。 tomodachinikuukoumadeokuttemoraimashita。 | My friend gave me a ride to the airport. |
| すみません、写真を撮ってもらえますか。 | すみません、しゃしんをとってもらえますか。 sumimasen、shashinwotottemoraemasuka。 | Excuse me, could you take a photo for me? |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
The person doing the favor takes に, not が — 友達が漢字を教えてもらいました is backwards (that would mean the friend is receiving the help). Keep it straight: [receiver]は[giver]に[verb-て]もらう.