The verb 給ふ・たまふ attaches to the ren’youkei of verbs and auxiliary verbs. It exists in two versions, that of a yodan verb and that of a shimo-nidan verb. We’ll go over its three uses here, but first, here are its alternate conjugations.
- 尊敬 honorific
The yodan version of 給ふ after a verb makes a verb honorific. It’s this use that is sometimes coupled with the honorific use of ～（さ）すto make the hyper-honorific.
Ex) 若君はいとあはれなる歌を詠み給ひたり。（若い王子様は大変に素晴らしい歌をお詠みになった。）(The young price has composed a splendid poem.
若君はいとあはれなる歌を詠ませ給ひたり。（ ” ）(hyper-honorific)
- 下さる
As a standalone verb, the yodan version of 給ふ is equivalent to 下さる. That is, it is the honorific version of the verb “to give.”
Ex) 天皇（すめらぎ）が侍ふ者どもに衣を給ふ。（天皇がお仕えする人々に衣を下さる。）(The emperor will give (hon) clothes to all those who serve (hum) him.)
- 謙譲 humble
In a less commonly seen usage, the shimo-nidan version of 給ふ is attached to the ren’youkei of verbs to designate the humble register.
Ex) 我が子ぞ 往に給ふる。（お去りするのは私の子だ。）(The one who will leave (hum) is my child.)
*Notice that if this were honorific, the 係助詞 「ぞ」would call for the yodan version 「給ふ」 instead.
Classical Japanese 