Meaning
Vます＋上げる says that a piece of work has been carried through and a finished result exists: a book written, an object made, a child raised. It combines with a limited set of verbs of making and effort. It is neither 上げる 'to raise' nor ～てあげる 'to do for someone'.
Formation
- Group 1 verb: Vます＋上げる: 書く → 書き上げる (finish writing)
- Group 2 verb: Vます＋上げる: 育てる → 育て上げる (raise, bring up)
- Special word: する → 仕上げる 'finish off, complete'; する-verbs (完成する) do not take 上げる
- 上げる conjugates as a group 2 verb — 書き上げた, 書き上げて, 書き上げられない
When to use it
- Where to use it
- For work that ends in a finished product: a manuscript, a project, a report, knitting, bringing up children. 論文を書き上げる, 三人の子を育て上げる.
- Where not to use it
- Grammar: it does not attach to every verb; 食べる and 走る do not take 上げる in this sense (use ～終わる or ～きる), and 読み上げる means 'read aloud'. Style: for small chores like washing up it sounds overblown; 洗い終わる is more natural.
Examples
20 sentences-
卒業論文を、やっと昨日書き上げました。
I finally finished writing my graduation thesis yesterday.
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母は女手一つで三人の子どもを育て上げました。
My mother raised three children all on her own.
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この模型は、父が半年かけて作り上げたものです。
My father spent six months building this model from start to finish.
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明日の会議までに、資料を仕上げておいてください。
Please have the materials finished by tomorrow's meeting.
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毎朝、床をぴかぴかに磨き上げるのが祖父の習慣だ。
Every morning my grandfather polishes the floor until it gleams; it's his habit.
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このセーター、一週間で編み上げたの？
You knitted this whole sweater in a week?
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何度も話し合って、新しい企画を練り上げた。
We talked it over many times and hammered out the new project in full.
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結局、締め切りまでに原稿を書き上げられなかった。
In the end, I couldn't finish the manuscript by the deadline.
12 more examples
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あの監督は、無名の選手を世界チャンピオンに育て上げた。
That coach turned an unknown athlete into a world champion.
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みんなで力を合わせて、一つの作品を作り上げましょう。
Let's join forces and create one finished piece together.
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祖母は孫のために、一晩でゆかたを縫い上げた。
My grandmother sewed a whole yukata for her granddaughter in a single night.
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父は一つの会社で、定年まで勤め上げた。
My father served at one company all the way to retirement.
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最後に、二百度のオーブンで二十分焼き上げます。
Finally, bake in a 200-degree oven for twenty minutes until done.
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その絵は、いつまでに仕上げるつもりですか？
By when do you plan to finish that painting?
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マラソン選手の鍛え上げられた体は、本当に美しい。
A marathon runner's finely honed body is truly beautiful.
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祖父が一代で築き上げた店を、私が継いだ。
I took over the shop that my grandfather built up from nothing.
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小説を最後まで書き上げたことは、一度もない。
I've never once managed to finish writing a novel.
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記者は、その政治家のお金の流れを調べ上げた。
The reporter thoroughly traced that politician's money trail.
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月末までに、報告書を書き上げてもらえますか？
Could you finish writing the report by the end of the month?
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引っ越す前に、台所を隅々まで磨き上げた。
Before moving out, I scrubbed every corner of the kitchen until it shone.
Important notes
- It stresses effort and the quality of the result: 書き上げた sounds weightier than 書き終わった.
- Some combinations mean something else: 読み上げる 'read aloud', 見上げる 'look up', 申し上げる 'say (humble)'.
Common mistakes
- ✗ 原稿を書き上がった → ✓ 原稿を書き上げた (or 原稿が書き上がった) — 上がる is intransitive and cannot take を.
- ✗ 卒業論文を完成し上げた → ✓ 卒業論文を書き上げた／完成させた — 上げる does not attach to する-verbs.
- △ 本を全部読み上げた (meant 'finished reading') → 本を全部読み終わった／読みきった — 読み上げる means 'read aloud'; the sentence works only if you really read the whole book aloud.
Check yourself
Pick the translation of each sentence. The wrong options translate similar patterns, so watch the grammar rather than the words.
Similar grammar
- ～きる・～きれない～きる means exhausting something completely or to the limit (食べきる, 疲れきる); ～上げる means completing work so that a finished product results.
- Vます + 終わる～終わる simply reports that an action ended; ～上げる adds that the work is done and the result is ready, usually after real effort.
- 〜てあげる～てあげる means doing something for another person (書いてあげる 'I'll write it for you'); here 上げる attaches to the ます-stem and signals completion.
- NをあげるStand-alone あげる 'give' and 上げる 'raise' are separate verbs; in Vます＋上げる there is no sense of giving or lifting.
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