给 (gěi): To / For (Recipient) | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

给 (gěi) is one of the first coverbs a learner meets, and one of the most useful. As a coverb it sits before the main verb and marks the person who receives or benefits from the action: 给你打电话 (call you), 给妈妈做饭 (cook for mom), 给大家介绍 (introduce to everyone). The whole structure is 给 + recipient + verb + (object). The single hardest thing for English speakers is the word order: English says "call you" and "cook for mom" with the person after the verb, but Chinese puts the 给-phrase in front of the verb. 给你打电话 is, literally, "for/to-you make-a-call."

The core pattern: 给 + recipient + verb

Think of 给 + person as setting up who the action is aimed at before you say what the action is. The real verb — 打电话, 做饭, 介绍, 讲, 买 — comes afterward.

我一到家就给你打电话。

wǒ yí dào jiā jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà

I'll call you as soon as I get home. (informal) — 给你 sets the recipient; 打电话 is the action.

妈妈每天给我们做早饭。

māma měi tiān gěi wǒmen zuò zǎofàn

Mom makes us breakfast every day. (informal) — 给我们 = for us; the verb is 做.

老师给我们讲了一个特别有意思的故事。

lǎoshī gěi wǒmen jiǎng le yí ge tèbié yǒuyìsi de gùshi

The teacher told us a really interesting story. (neutral)

我想给你介绍一个朋友。

wǒ xiǎng gěi nǐ jièshào yí ge péngyou

I'd like to introduce a friend to you. (neutral)

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Build the sentence in Chinese order, not English order: first the doer, then 给 + who it's for, then the action. "I'll call you" is not 我打电话你 — it is 我给你打电话 ("I / for-you / make-a-call"). Front-load the beneficiary and the rest falls into place.

The beneficiary needn't be human

The person after 给 is usually a recipient, but it can also just be a beneficiary — someone (or something) the action is done for, without any object literally changing hands.

你能不能给我看看那张照片？

nǐ néng bu néng gěi wǒ kànkan nà zhāng zhàopiàn

Could you show me that photo? (informal) — 给我看 = show to me; nothing is handed over.

别忘了给花浇水。

bié wàng le gěi huā jiāo shuǐ

Don't forget to water the flowers. (informal) — 给花 = for the flowers; even a non-person takes 给.

我帮你给他带个话。

wǒ bāng nǐ gěi tā dài ge huà

I'll pass a message to him for you. (informal) — 给他 marks who the message reaches.

Notice 给我看看 ("show me") — 给 alone never means "show." The action is 看 (look); 给我 supplies the beneficiary, and the pair means "let me look → show me." This is a favorite trap and gets its own mistake below.

给 is also a verb and a result-marker

The coverb "for/to" is only one of 给's three hats. It is also a full verb meaning "give" (给我一本书, "give me a book") and a resultative clipped onto the back of transfer verbs (送给他, "give to him"; 卖给我, "sell to me"). Position decides which role 给 is playing — before the verb it's the coverb, after it's the resultative. The full three-way breakdown lives on the 给: verb vs coverb vs result page; this page is only the coverb (beneficiary-before-the-verb) angle.

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给 handles a concrete recipient or beneficiary (给你打电话, 给妈妈做饭). When the benefit is abstract — acting for the sake of someone or something — Chinese prefers the more formal 为 / 为了: 为你着想 ("looking out for you"), 为人民服务 ("serve the people"). Rule of thumb: a real recipient takes 给; an abstract cause or sake takes 为.

Before or after: 给你打电话 vs 打电话给你

With some verbs the beneficiary can go before (coverb) or after (as a landing point) — both are natural. 给你打电话 and 打电话给你 both mean "call you"; 给他写信 and 写信给他 both mean "write to him." The front version foregrounds the person; the back version foregrounds the thing (the call, the letter). What you can never do is use both at once and pile up two 给.

有事给我打电话，或者打电话给我，都行。

yǒu shì gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà, huòzhě dǎ diànhuà gěi wǒ, dōu xíng

If something comes up, call me — either 给我打电话 or 打电话给我 works. (informal)

Front (coverb)	Back (landing point)	Meaning
给你打电话	打电话给你	call you
给他写信	写信给他	write to him
给大家介绍	介绍给大家	introduce to everyone

Common Mistakes

1. Putting the recipient after the verb, English-style. "Call you" is not 打电话你 — the beneficiary needs 给, and the coverb version fronts it.

❌ 我今晚打电话你。

Incorrect — the recipient needs 给: 我今晚给你打电话.

✅ 我今晚给你打电话。

wǒ jīnwǎn gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà

I'll call you tonight. — 给你 before the verb.

2. Expecting 给 alone to mean 'show'. "Show me X" needs the verb 看; 给我 supplies only the beneficiary.

❌ 给我那张照片。

Means 'give me that photo' — for 'show me' you need the verb 看: 给我看看那张照片.

✅ 给我看看那张照片。

gěi wǒ kànkan nà zhāng zhàopiàn

Show me that photo. — 给我 (beneficiary) + 看看 (the action).

3. Using 给 for 'say to' someone. Standard Mandarin uses 跟 or 对 for "tell / say to"; 给我说 is regional (northern), not standard.

❌ 他给我说明天不来了。

Non-standard (regional: northern) — standard Mandarin is 他跟我说 / 对我说明天不来了.

✅ 他跟我说明天不来了。

tā gēn wǒ shuō míngtiān bù lái le

He told me he's not coming tomorrow. (informal) — 跟 for 'say to'.

4. Dropping 给 in a benefactive sentence. "Cook for us" needs 给 to mark who benefits; leaving it out strands the beneficiary.

❌ 妈妈做饭我们。

Incorrect — the beneficiary needs 给: 妈妈给我们做饭.

✅ 妈妈给我们做饭。

māma gěi wǒmen zuò fàn

Mom cooks for us. — 给我们 marks the beneficiary before 做饭.

Key Takeaways

As a coverb, 给 sits before the main verb and marks the recipient or beneficiary: 给 + person + verb.
The word order is the whole battle — "call you" is 给你打电话 ("for-you make-a-call"), never 打电话你.
The beneficiary can be a non-person too (给花浇水), and 给我看看 = "show me" (the action is 看, 给我 is the beneficiary).
Many verbs allow the beneficiary before (给你写信) or after (写信给你), but never two 给 at once.
给 also means "give" (verb) and marks transfer after a verb (送给他, resultative) — see the verb-vs-coverb page.

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