上げる vs 上がる
JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?
上げる is transitive — someone raises something, and that something takes を: 手を上げる. 上がる is intransitive — something rises on its own, and it takes が: 値段が上がる. It is exactly the same pattern as 始める/始まる, and the particle is the giveaway.
When to use each
上げる
あげる
Transitive. Someone lifts, raises or increases something, and that thing is the object with を — a hand, a price, your voice, a score. Written in kana, あげる also means giving something to an equal or a junior.
手を上げてください。
てをあげてください。
Please raise your hand.
店は先月、値段を上げました。
みせはせんげつ、ねだんをあげました。
The shop raised its prices last month.
上がる
あがる
Intransitive. The thing that rises is the subject with が and nobody is said to be doing it — prices, a fever, the temperature, the curtain. It also means stepping up into a house or onto a stage.
野菜の値段が上がりました。
やさいのねだんがあがりました。
Vegetable prices went up.
熱が上がって、学校を休みました。
ねつがあがって、がっこうをやすみました。
My fever rose, so I stayed home from school.
Sentences where only one works
会社が給料を上げました。
かいしゃがきゅうりょうをあげました。
The company raised salaries.
The company is the actor, so the salary is the object with を — 上げる.
給料が上がりました。
きゅうりょうがあがりました。
My salary went up.
The same event with no actor. The salary becomes the subject with が — 上がる. Japanese prefers this when who did it is beside the point.
もう少し声を上げてください。
もうすこしこえをあげてください。
Please speak up a bit.
You control your own voice, so it is an object: を plus 上げる. 声が上がりました would describe a shout going up from a crowd.
どうぞ、家に上がってください。
どうぞ、いえにあがってください。
Please come in.
Entering a Japanese home means stepping up from the entrance and you are the one moving — intransitive 上がる with に, never を.
Common mistakes
手が上げてください。
手を上げてください。
上げる always needs を for the thing raised. Fix the particle and the verb follows — the two are locked together.
値段を上がりました。
値段が上がりました。
上がる cannot take an object. To name who raised them, switch verbs: 店が値段を上げました.
先生にあげます。
先生に差し上げます。
In the giving sense, あげる is only for equals and juniors, so using it for a teacher sounds presumptuous. Use 差し上げます, or reword with お渡しします.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I so often hear 上がる where English would say "they raised it"?
Japanese leaves the actor out when it does not matter, and the intransitive verb is how that is done. 電気代が上がった is far more natural than naming the utility company.
Is the 上げる that means "give" the same verb?
The same verb, usually written in kana as あげる in that sense. Only the physical "raise" meaning pairs with 上がる; the giving sense has no 上がる counterpart.
Does this を/が rule work for other verb pairs?
Yes — that is the point. 閉める/閉まる, 開ける/開く, 出す/出る, 入れる/入る all behave the same way: the transitive one takes を and implies a doer, the intransitive one takes が and does not.