When using the verb「持って来る」(motte kuru), it literally means “to hold and come.” This verb is used when the speaker or someone else brings an object from a different location to the speaker’s current location. It implies a movement towards the speaker.
A common mistake is confusing 「持って来る」with「持って行く」(motte iku) which means “to hold and go.” While「持って来る」implies movement towards the speaker, 「持って行く」implies movement away from the speaker, to another location.
For example, if you are at home and ask someone to bring your book from your office, you would use「持って来る」. If you are at home and need to take a book to your office, you would use「持って行く」.
§ Understanding 持って来る (motte kuru)
You're learning Japanese, and you've probably come across a few ways to say 'to bring'. Today, let's focus on 持って来る (motte kuru). This verb is essential for everyday communication, and you'll hear it constantly in various situations. It specifically means to 'bring a thing' to the speaker's location. It's different from 'to take something' away from the speaker's location, which uses a different verb, 持って行く (motte iku).
§ Basic Usage of 持って来る (motte kuru)
The most straightforward use of 持って来る is when you want someone to bring an object to your current location. Think of it as 'come here with the thing'.
- Japanese Word
- 持って来る (motte kuru)
- Definition
- to bring (a thing)
ペンを持って来てください。(Pen o motte kite kudasai.)
Hint: Please bring me the pen.
彼女はいつも美味しいお土産を持って来てくれる。(Kanojo wa itsumo oishii omiyage o motte kite kureru.)
Hint: She always brings (us) delicious souvenirs.
§ 持って来る in Work Situations
In a work environment, you'll hear 持って来る often when someone needs you to retrieve documents, tools, or other items. It's a very common and direct way to make a request.
When asking a colleague to bring a document:
会議室に資料を持って来てください。(Kaigishitsu ni shiryō o motte kite kudasai.)
Hint: Please bring the materials to the meeting room.
When a manager asks an employee to bring something to their desk:
あのファイルを私の机に持って来てくれる？(Ano fairu o watashi no tsukue ni motte kite kureru?)
Hint: Can you bring that file to my desk?
§ 持って来る in School Life
In school, both teachers and students use 持って来る frequently. Teachers might ask students to bring textbooks or homework, and students might talk about bringing their lunch or school supplies.
A teacher instructing students:
次の授業で教科書を持って来てください。(Tsugi no jugyō de kyōkasho o motte kite kudasai.)
Hint: Please bring your textbook to the next class.
A student talking to a friend:
お弁当を持って来るのを忘れた！(Obentō o motte kuru no o wasureta!)
Hint: I forgot to bring my lunch!
§ 持って来る in News and Formal Contexts
While 持って来る is quite common in daily conversation, it also appears in more formal contexts like news reports, especially when reporting on items being delivered or presented.
In a news report about a donation:
彼は被災地に食料を持って来た。(Kare wa hisaichi ni shokuryō o motte kita.)
Hint: He brought food to the disaster area.
When discussing evidence in a legal context (though more formal phrasing might be used, the core meaning remains):
証拠を裁判所に持って来る必要があります。(Shōko o saibansho ni motte kuru hitsuyō ga arimasu.)
Hint: It is necessary to bring the evidence to the court.
§ Practice Using 持って来る
The best way to get comfortable with 持って来る is to use it. Try making your own sentences. Think about things you bring to work, school, or home every day.
What do you bring to work?
What did you bring for lunch?
What should I bring to the party?
By actively using 持って来る in your thoughts and conversations, you'll solidify your understanding and make it a natural part of your Japanese vocabulary. Keep practicing, and you'll master it in no time!
How Formal Is It?
"傘をご持参ください。 (Kasa o jisan shite kudasai.) - Please bring your umbrella (with you)."
"忘れずに宿題を持ってきてね。 (Wasurezu ni shukudai o motte kite ne.) - Don't forget to bring your homework."
"これ、持ってくるの忘れたわ。 (Kore, motte kuru no wasureta wa.) - Oh, I forgot to bring this."
"おもちゃ、もってきてね。 (Omocha, motte kite ne.) - Bring your toy, okay?"
"ちょっと、これ持ってくわ。 (Chotto, kore motteku wa.) - Hey, I'll take this (and bring it with me)."
Expressions idiomatiques
"持ってくるのを忘れた"
Forgot to bring it
宿題を持ってくるのを忘れました。
neutral"持ってくるのを手伝う"
Help bring it
荷物を持ってくるのを手伝いましょうか。
neutral"持ってくるように頼む"
Ask to bring it
彼に傘を持ってくるように頼みました。
neutral"持ってくるものがたくさんある"
Have many things to bring
パーティーに持ってくるものがたくさんあります。
neutral"持ってくる時間がない"
No time to bring it
忙しくて、それを持ってくる時間がありません。
neutral"持ってくるのを待つ"
Wait for someone to bring it
彼が資料を持ってくるのを待ちます。
neutral"持ってくるべきだった"
Should have brought it
水筒を持ってくるべきだった。
neutral"持ってくるのを忘れないで"
Don't forget to bring it
明日、お弁当を持ってくるのを忘れないでね。
informal"持ってくるのが遅い"
Slow to bring it
注文した商品を持ってくるのが遅いですね。
neutral"持ってくるのに時間がかかる"
Takes time to bring it
この重い荷物を持ってくるのに時間がかかります。
neutralTeste-toi 30 questions
Choose the correct particle to complete the sentence: 私はペンを____持って来ます。
The particle 'に' is used here to indicate the destination or direction for 'bring'.
Which sentence correctly uses "持って来る"?
「持って来る」 means to 'bring (a thing) to where the speaker is'. 「持って行きます」 means to 'take (a thing) to somewhere else'.
What is the most natural way to ask someone to bring something to you?
「持って来る」 is used when bringing an inanimate object to the speaker. 「連れて来る」 is used for bringing a person or animal.
「持って来る」 can be used when bringing a friend to a party.
「持って来る」 is used for inanimate objects. For people or animals, 「連れて来る」 is used.
If you are at home and someone asks you to bring a book from the library to your home, you would use 「持って来る」.
You are bringing the book to where you (the speaker) are, so 「持って来る」 is correct.
「持って来る」 is the casual form of 「持って来ます」.
「持って来る」 is the plain form, and 「持って来ます」 is the polite form.
Listen for 'bring a pen here'.
Listen for 'brought a book from the library'.
Listen for 'Will you bring something to the party?'
Read this aloud:
これをあなたの机に持って来て。
Focus: 持って来て (motte kite)
Tu as dit :
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
彼はいつもお土産を持って来ます。
Focus: 持って来ます (motte kimasu)
Tu as dit :
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
会議に資料を持って来てください。
Focus: 持って来てください (motte kite kudasai)
Tu as dit :
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
This is the book I brought.
Shall I bring something?
Please bring an umbrella.
Read this aloud:
ペンを持って来てください。
Focus: 持って来てください (motte kite kudasai)
Tu as dit :
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
水を持って来ましょうか？
Focus: 持って来ましょうか (motte kimashou ka)
Tu as dit :
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
彼が持って来たプレゼントです。
Focus: 彼が持って来た (kare ga motte kita)
Tu as dit :
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Choose the most appropriate sentence using 持って来る (motte kuru):
The sentence 'パーティーにワインを持って来てください。' (Please bring wine to the party.) is the most natural and grammatically correct usage of 持って来る in this context, indicating bringing an item to a place. The other options are either grammatically incorrect or semantically unnatural.
Which sentence correctly expresses 'He brought a lot of souvenirs from his trip'?
The particle 'から' (kara) is correctly used to indicate the origin from which the souvenirs were brought. The other options use incorrect particles or unnatural phrasing.
Select the sentence where 持って来る is used to indicate bringing something to the speaker's location:
In '彼女はいつもお弁当を持って来ます。' (She always brings her lunch box.), '持って来ます' implies bringing the lunchbox to a location, presumably where the speaker is or to a common destination like work/school. The other sentences do not as clearly imply the item is being brought to the speaker's immediate location.
The phrase '会議に資料を持って来るのを忘れてしまった' (I forgot to bring the materials to the meeting) is a grammatically correct and natural use of 持って来る.
This sentence is grammatically correct and very natural in Japanese. It correctly uses 持って来る to describe forgetting to bring an item to a specific event or location.
You can use 持って来る to mean 'bring a person' to a location.
持って来る specifically refers to bringing an inanimate object. To say 'bring a person,' you would typically use 連れて来る (tsurete kuru).
In the sentence '友達が新しいゲームを持って来てくれた' (My friend brought a new game for me), the use of 'くれた' indicates that the action of bringing was done for the speaker's benefit.
The auxiliary verb 'くれる' (kureru), here in its past tense 'くれた', is correctly used to express that an action (bringing the game) was performed by someone else for the benefit of the speaker.
この複雑な国際会議では、各国の代表が自国の独自の視点をテーブルに___ことが不可欠である。
In the context of 'bringing perspectives to the table' in a formal setting, '持って来る' (to bring) is the most appropriate and natural verb. The sentence emphasizes the necessity of representatives bringing their unique viewpoints.
その研究者は、新たな仮説を立証するために、世界中から希少な文献を___必要があった。
The sentence states that the researcher 'needed to bring' (必要があった) rare literature to prove a new hypothesis. Therefore, '持って来る' is the correct form to complete the infinitive phrase.
長年の経験から培われた知見は、困難なプロジェクトを成功に導くために不可欠な要素を___。
This sentence describes how accumulated knowledge 'brings' (持って来る) essential elements for success in difficult projects. The active and causative sense of '持って来る' is appropriate here.
未来の社会を構想する上で、私たちは過去の教訓を常に心に___べきだ。
The phrase '心に持って来る' (to bring to mind/heart) is an idiomatic expression. '～べきだ' indicates an obligation or recommendation, so '持って来る' is the correct base form.
この技術革新は、生産性の向上だけでなく、業界全体のパラダイムシフトを___可能性を秘めている。
The sentence indicates that technological innovation 'has the potential to bring about' (可能性を秘めている) a paradigm shift. '持って来る' is the correct verb to express this causation.
現代社会が直面する複雑な問題に対して、多角的な視点を___ことが、持続可能な解決策を見出す鍵となる。
The phrase '多角的な視点を持って来る' means 'to bring diverse perspectives.' The sentence emphasizes that this action is key to finding sustainable solutions. '持って来る' correctly expresses this active 'bringing' of perspectives.
/ 30 correct
Perfect score!
Exemple
本を持って来ていただけますか。
Contenu associé
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宿泊
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手頃
B1Reasonable in price or size; affordable, suitable.
〜の後に
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〜の後で
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B1Airline company.
