上がる あがる 上げる あげる - Grammar Discussion

English translation:
something is finished
to finish something
something has come to an end
to do something completely
to do something through

Structure:
(Noun + が) + Verb [stem] + 上がる
(Noun + を) + Verb [stem] + 上げる

Explanation:
[In this meaning it is often used with verbs that produce some kind of effect (mostly material product), like 描く - produces a picture.]

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Can anyone explain the nuance between ~上げる and ~切る please?

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It is very simple actually, きる is a wider expression than あげる.
The latter is mostly used when the action produces some kind of material effect (書きあげる - produces some piece of writing, 描きあげる - produces a picture, 編みあげる - some kind of knitted fabric etc).

While the former doesn’t have this restriction, so you can rephrase 書き切った to 書き上げた but not always the other way.
Like 信じ切る to believe someone completely・till the end -> 信じ上げる

Plus あげる sounds more formal and is used less often.

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That’s great thanks! I don’t think I’ve ever heard either of them in my daily life, I usually just hear things like 書き終わった but I understand that nuance. It looks to me like in terms of あげた and 切った there is more emphasis on the completeness.

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What is the difference between this and Verb[stem] + 終わる?

その日のうちに部屋を塗り終わった。
その日のうちに部屋を塗り上げた。

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Hey :cowboy_hat_face:

The difference is very simple, 終わる only means that something has been finished, while 上がる/上げる means that something has been finished and some kind of effect has been produced (like painted walls, picture, book), etc. In other words, 終わる is a broader expression.

By the way, I changed the sentence a bit, の日のうちに部屋の壁を塗り終わった。
Japanese usually indicate what have been painted. Like walls (壁), ceiling (天井) ,insides (中全).

I hope it helps,
Cheers!

2 Likes

I think this could use a different hint from “[instructions]”. I totally misunderstood what this was asking for.

Hey! Thank you for your feedback. Any suggestion as to what you would change it to?

Something consistent with the other sentences – something that mentions “finish” or “complete”…
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Suggestions:
– Remove “instructions” from the orange text hint because that’s not the meaning for the grammar point. Put “Instructions on a package” inside 《》 before the sentence like many other Bunpro sentences.
– Put “complete the action of” in orange text.
– Change English to “… boil it together until it is done. (finish boiling it)”

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Good suggestions! I’ll talk to the content team and see how we can implement those!

I like the new, more consistent nuance hints, but it seems that some of these are excessively wordy. For example, this one shows up on my phone as a wall of text, almost completely pushing out the original question. Maybe the hint could focus on the key words for the grammar point, for the purpose of triggering the memory of a particular grammar point, instead of creating a detailed teaching lesson on one screen.
In this case, I think you only need the following (I highlighted the key trigger words for each grammar point, but I’m not suggesting making it bold like that):

  • 切る implies things are completely used up or something has come to a complete end. Think of a grammar point that implies that something is produced, built, or baked to completion.
    ( → “oh! あげる”)

p.s. For this one, the extra punctuation, like “/” and “()”, probably also makes it visually look more complicated. It’s just a hint, right? It doesn’t have to cover every possible nuance. A simpler sentence is a better trigger to a memory.

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Hi!

One of the example sentences that accompany this grammar point is this:

レポートは書きあがった

However, as writing a report is an “action that has an instigator”, wouldn’t the sentence rather be:

レポートを書きあげた

If not, why would 上がる be used in this instance?

Thank you for your consideration.
良い一日を

I think it’s just a difference of “the report has been finished” vs “I finished the report”

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