彼らは援助を申し出た。

[cstuartroe]

English Translation

They offered assistance.

Doesn’t 申し出る also mean “request”? How do you know whether this means “they offered help” or “they requested help”?

[MsFixer]

@cstuartroe
No. Maybe you are confused with the following three expressions.

• 申し出る = (kindly/humbly) offer; volunteer; confess (that I did the bad thing)

• 願い出る (pron. ねがいでる) = request for approval; ask for help

• 申し込む (pron. もうしこむ) = apply for an aid/subsidy program