Which one of these sentences is more used?


For asking someone to lend you something:

>   * 貸してください
>

Or

>   * かりてもいいですか
>

Is there any difference and which one is more used in real life?




Rather than asking which of these forms is _more used_ , we can look at in
which contexts each of these forms is appropriate.

> 貸してください

Means, " **Please lend it to me.** " The verb 貸す "lend" is changed to the
_-te_ form, and 下さい "please" is added to turn this into a request.

As this involves more or less directly asking somebody to do something, you
should probably not use it with people that you do not know well or that are
of higher social status (ex: instructors, the police).

> かりてもいいですか?

This one means, " **Is it okay if I borrow it?** " The verb here is 借りる
"borrow" (as opposed to _lend_ in the sentence above). It is changed to the
_-te_ form, and _-mo ii desu ka?_ "is it okay if I VERB?" is added. This one
is more polite because it uses the _desu/-masu_ form, and doesn't directly ask
the person you are speaking to to do something. Rather, you are asking if it
is OK if _you_ do something. If it is okay to ask to borrow something to begin
with, this should be a generally appropriate way to ask.

> 貸してくれない？

Finally, this sentence, like the first one means something like **Can you lend
it to me?** It uses the verb 貸す "lend". As with the first, it is first changed
to the _-te_ form, but this time _-kurenai_ "do for me" is added. This one
should probably only be used with people that are close to you.

Of these three choices, [借]{か}りてもいいですか？ is the most polite choice and
therefore your "safest" choice for getting your meaning across without
offending anybody.




Rather than asking which of these forms is _more used_ , we can look at in
which contexts each of these forms is appropriate.

> 貸してください

Means, " **Please lend it to me.** " The verb 貸す "lend" is changed to the
_-te_ form, and 下さい "please" is added to turn this into a request.

As this involves more or less directly asking somebody to do something, you
should probably not use it with people that you do not know well or that are
of higher social status (ex: instructors, the police).

> かりてもいいですか?

This one means, " **Is it okay if I borrow it?** " The verb here is 借りる
"borrow" (as opposed to _lend_ in the sentence above). It is changed to the
_-te_ form, and _-mo ii desu ka?_ "is it okay if I VERB?" is added. This one
is more polite because it uses the _desu/-masu_ form, and doesn't directly ask
the person you are speaking to to do something. Rather, you are asking if it
is OK if _you_ do something. If it is okay to ask to borrow something to begin
with, this should be a generally appropriate way to ask.

> 貸してくれない？

Finally, this sentence, like the first one means something like **Can you lend
it to me?** It uses the verb 貸す "lend". As with the first, it is first changed
to the _-te_ form, but this time _-kurenai_ "do for me" is added. This one
should probably only be used with people that are close to you.

Of these three choices, [借]{か}りてもいいですか？ is the most polite choice and
therefore your "safest" choice for getting your meaning across without
offending anybody.

