1To give something to someone — the core directional give-verb where the giver is the speaker's side and the receiver is the other side. くれる runs the opposite direction (other → speaker), and もらう takes the receiver's viewpoint. Almost always written in kana. Use 差し上げる toward superiors; やる is the casual form often used with pets or plants.
この本、もう読み終わったから君にあげるよ。
I'm done reading this book, so I'll give it to you.
妹の誕生日に何をあげようか迷っている。
I can't decide what to give my little sister for her birthday.
余った野菜は近所の人にあげた。
I gave the leftover vegetables to a neighbor.
犬にもおやつをあげていい？
Can I give the dog a treat too?
2To raise, lift, or elevate something — physically moving an object or body part upward. The most concrete, literal use, frequently in set phrases like 手を上げる (raise one's hand) and 旗を上げる (raise a flag).
わかる人は手を上げてください。
If you know the answer, please raise your hand.
毎朝、学校で国旗を上げる。
Every morning, we raise the national flag at school.
重そうだったので、片手だけで上げてみせた。
It looked heavy, so I showed off by lifting it with just one hand.
3To move something to a higher place — onto a shelf, up to an upper floor, etc. Used in patterns like 〜の上に上げる or 二階に上げる. Whereas the previous sense emphasizes the lifting motion itself, this sense emphasizes moving the item to a higher destination.
この本、上の棚に上げてくれる？
Could you put this book up on the top shelf for me?
引っ越しの時、冷蔵庫を二階に上げるのが大変だった。
When we moved, getting the fridge up to the second floor was a struggle.
4To raise or increase something abstract or measurable — price, quality, status, standards, wages. Used in patterns like 値段を上げる, 給料を上げる, 品質を上げる. The kanji 騰げる occasionally appears specifically for prices.
会社は来月から給料を上げると発表した。
The company announced it will raise salaries starting next month.
原材料費の高騰で、メーカーは商品価格を上げざるを得なくなった。
With raw material costs surging, the maker had no choice but to raise its product prices.
サービスの質を上げるために、スタッフの研修を充実させた。
To raise the quality of service, we expanded staff training.
5To invite or let someone into one's home or a room. Because a Japanese house's floor is raised at the entrance (one "goes up" 上がる after removing shoes), this transitive 上げる literally means "to bring (someone) up into the house." A casual phrasing; more formal alternatives are 招く / お通しする.
雨が降っていたので、客を家に上げて温かいお茶を出した。
It was raining, so I had the guest come inside and served some hot tea.
知らない人を家に上げるのは不安だ。
I feel uneasy about letting a stranger into the house.
6To enroll or send one's child to a school — particularly to a higher level of schooling, as in 中学校に上げる, 大学に上げる. Slightly old-fashioned; 進学させる or 入学させる are more common today.
息子を来年から私立中学に上げるつもりだ。
We're planning to send our son to a private junior high school starting next year.
下の子もそろそろ小学校に上げる時期だ。
It's about time to start our younger child in elementary school as well.
7To develop or improve a skill, ability, or level of performance. Used in expressions like 腕を上げる (improve one's skill), 英語力を上げる (raise one's English ability), 成績を上げる (improve grades).
毎日練習を重ねて、ピアノの腕を上げた。
By practicing every day, I improved my piano skills.
英会話力を上げるために、毎晩オンラインレッスンを受けている。
I take online lessons every night to improve my English conversation skills.
次の試験までに必ず成績を上げてみせる。
I'll definitely raise my grades by the next exam.
8To produce or achieve a desirable outcome — results, profits, performance. Common in business or competitive contexts: 成果を上げる (produce results), 業績を上げる (boost performance), 利益を上げる (earn a profit).
彼のチームは今期も大きな利益を上げた。
His team earned a large profit again this quarter.
新人ながら、初年度から目覚ましい成果を上げた。
Despite being a new hire, she produced remarkable results in her first year.
営業部は今月、過去最高の売上を上げた。
The sales department posted its best monthly revenue ever this month.
9To promote someone to a higher position — as in 課長に上げる. In modern usage, 昇進させる or 昇格させる are more common phrasings.
社長は彼女を実力を見込んで部長に上げた。
Recognizing her abilities, the president promoted her to department head.
成績次第で来期から主任に上げることもある。
Depending on performance, we may promote you to chief starting next term.
10To finish or complete a piece of work — finishing a job, delivering a manuscript, wrapping a task by a deadline. Common in craftsman, editorial, and production contexts: 仕事を上げる, 原稿を上げる.
なんとか締め切りまでに原稿を上げた。
I somehow managed to finish the manuscript by the deadline.
今日中にこの仕事を上げてしまいたい。
I want to wrap up this work by the end of the day.
11To raise one's voice or let out a loud sound, often with strong emotion: 声を上げる (raise one's voice), 悲鳴を上げる (let out a scream), 歓声を上げる (cheer / let out a cry of joy).
子どもたちは花火を見て歓声を上げた。
The children let out cheers when they saw the fireworks.
彼女は突然の物音に悲鳴を上げた。
She let out a scream at the sudden noise.
黙ってないで、おかしいと思うなら声を上げるべきだ。
Don't just stay silent — if you think something's wrong, you should speak up.
12To raise one's gaze or lift up one's face — turning to look upward, especially from a downward-cast posture. Common in 顔を上げる (lift one's face) and 目を上げる (raise one's eyes).
顔を上げてしっかり前を見なさい。
Lift your face and look straight ahead.
彼は本から目を上げて、私の方を見た。
He raised his eyes from the book and looked at me.
13To put one's hair up — to style hair in an updo. 髪を上げる, with 髪をアップにする being a common modern synonym.
暑くなってきたので、髪を上げて出かけた。
It was getting hot, so I put my hair up before going out.
結婚式に出るので、美容院で髪を上げてもらった。
I had my hair done up at the salon for the wedding.
14To offer something — incense, food, prayers, sutras — up to the gods or Buddha. Used in religious contexts at a household altar, gravesite, or shrine: 線香を上げる (offer incense), お経を上げる (chant a sutra as an offering).
お盆にお墓参りに行って、線香を上げた。
We visited the grave during Obon and offered incense.
毎朝、仏壇に手を合わせてお経を上げる。
Every morning I put my hands together before the family altar and chant a sutra.
15To praise, commend, or flatter someone. In modern Japanese, however, the bare 上げる rarely carries this meaning on its own — this sense survives mostly in compounds like 持ち上げる (to flatter, lit. "lift up") and ほめ上げる (to praise extravagantly). Standalone usage is literary or old-fashioned.
周りがあまりに彼を上げるので、本人も調子に乗ってしまった。
The people around him praised him so much that he ended up getting carried away.
16To get something done within a given budget — to keep costs down to a set amount. 五万円で上げる, 予算内で上げる. Somewhat old-fashioned; modern speakers more often say 〜以内に収める or 〜で済ませる.
今度の旅行は三万円で上げるつもりだ。
I'm planning to keep this trip within 30,000 yen.
17To finish one's studies or end a class — 授業を上げる, 課程を上げる. A somewhat old-fashioned phrasing; modern Japanese prefers 授業を終える / 終わる and 課程を修了する.
では、今日はこれで授業を上げます。
Well then, we'll wrap up today's class here.
18To upload or post something to the internet — photos, videos, articles. A common SNS-era colloquial usage: 写真をSNSに上げる, 動画をYouTubeに上げる. Roughly interchangeable with アップする and 投稿する.
旅行の写真をInstagramに上げたら、たくさん「いいね」がついた。
When I posted my travel photos on Instagram, they got a lot of likes.
新しい動画をYouTubeに上げたので、ぜひ見てください。
I've uploaded a new video to YouTube — please check it out.
勝手に人の写真をネットに上げるのはやめてほしい。
Please stop posting other people's photos online without permission.
19(colloquial) To hype up — to raise spirits, energy, or the mood. Especially common in katakana as アゲる, in young-people's expressions like テンションをアゲる and 気分をアゲる. Often paired with its slang opposite サゲる (to bring down the mood).
この曲、テンション一気にアゲてくれるよね。
This song really gets you hyped up right away, doesn't it.
朝から気分をアゲていこう！
Let's get our energy up from the morning!
20(intransitive, archaic) Of the tide or water level, to rise, to come in. An old usage from nautical/fishing contexts; modern everyday Japanese uses 潮が満ちる or 潮が上がる instead. The noun 上げ潮 (rising tide) preserves this sense.
潮が上げてきたから、そろそろ船を出そう。
The tide is coming in, so let's get the boat out soon.
21(intransitive, finance) Of a market price or stock, to rise. A market/securities jargon usage: 株価が上げる, 銘柄が上げる, expressing upward movement. In ordinary speech, 上がる sounds more natural.
好決算を受けて、その銘柄は大きく上げた。
On the back of strong earnings, that stock rose sharply.
今日の市場は午後から徐々に上げてきた。
Today's market has been gradually rising since the afternoon.
22To vomit, to throw up. In modern Japanese, the bare 上げる is essentially never used for this meaning — it survives only in the compound 吐き上げる. Everyday speech uses 吐く, もどす, or the slangy ゲロを吐く.
23Auxiliary after a verb's -te form, in the pattern 〜てあげる: to do something for someone else's benefit. A core piece of giving/receiving grammar — the action runs from the speaker's side toward the other person. Almost always in kana. A note of caution: emphasizing the favor you're doing can sound condescending. Toward superiors, use 〜して差し上げる or skip the benefactive entirely and use plain humble forms like お〜する.
重そうだね、荷物を持ってあげるよ。
That looks heavy — I'll carry the bag for you.
わからないところがあったら、いつでも教えてあげるよ。
If there's anything you don't get, I'll explain it any time.
妹が泣いていたので、絵本を読んであげた。
My little sister was crying, so I read a picture book to her.
犬の散歩、私が連れて行ってあげる。
I'll take the dog for a walk for you.
24Suffix attached to a verb's masu-stem to add the sense of "completing the action through to the end." 書き上げる (finish writing), 作り上げる (build/create completely), 仕上げる (finish off), やり上げる (see something through) all carry this sense of carrying an action to completion.
三年かけて、ようやく長編小説を書き上げた。
After three years, I finally finished writing my novel.
チーム全員で力を合わせて、新しいシステムを作り上げた。
The whole team pulled together and built the new system from the ground up.
25Suffix (humble) attached to the masu-stem of an already-humble verb to intensify the humility. Found in formal written or business expressions: 申し上げる, お礼申し上げる, お願い申し上げる, ご報告申し上げます.
この度は誠にありがとうございました。心より御礼申し上げます。
Thank you sincerely for everything. I extend my heartfelt gratitude.
皆様のご協力を心よりお願い申し上げます。
I sincerely ask for everyone's cooperation.