Abstract
In this research, the author selected passages from Japanese literature containing compound verbs utilizing ageru/-agaru (to raise/to go up) and compared them to the Vietnamese translations of those passages. In the case of verbs which express upward movement, such as tachiagaru (stand up) and mochiageru (to raise), which are translated as đứng lên and cầm lên, respectively, the word lên (to go up) corresponds to agaru/ageru. While in Japanese the verbs -ageru/-agaru can also be used to indicate completion (of an act) or respect (to the listener), there were few instances of such nuances successfully being translated into Vietnamese. On the other hand, instances were observed both where compound verbs containing -ageru/-agaru were translated into a compound verb containing lên, such as when the expression kouzu wo tsukuriageru (complete the script) is translated as dựng lên kịch bản (stand + rise + script), and where they were translated into lên as a stand- alone verb, such as when the expression senryaku wo neriageru (refine a strategy) is translated as lên chiến lược (raise + strategy).
