助ける means to help or rescue someone who is in difficulty.
The idea
助ける is an ichidan transitive verb: mark the person helped with を. Drop る and add ます, ました or て to make 助けます, 助けました or 助けて. 助けてください is a request for help.
| Dictionary form | Polite non-past | Polite past | て form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 助ける | 助けます | 助けました | 助けて |
Examples
- 困っている友達を助けました。I helped a friend who was in trouble.
- 消防士は子どもを火事から助けました。The firefighter rescued a child from the fire.
- 私を助けてください。Please help me.
- みんなで災害にあった人たちを助けます。Everyone helps the people affected by the disaster.
- 道に迷ったとき、通りかかった人が私を助けてくれました。A passerby helped me when I was lost.
- 私たちはみんなを助けることができません。We cannot help everyone.
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Watch out
手伝う often means assisting with a task; 助ける highlights helping someone out of trouble. The intransitive 助かる means someone is saved or helped.
Try it yourself
＿。（助ける→ます）
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助けます
助けます is the polite non-past: remove る and add ます.
＿。（助ける→て）
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助けて
助けて is the て form: remove る and add て; add ください to request help.
私は友達＿助けました。（を／に）
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を
を marks the friend as the person helped by the speaker.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
＿。（助ける→ます）
＿。（助ける→て）
私は友達＿助けました。（を／に）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Describe a person in difficulty whom you helped, using を and the polite past.