さえEven

さえ is an adverbial particle in Japanese that is used to place emphasis on something existing in certain state. It is often translated as 'even'. さえ has three primary meanings, which are as follows:

Analogical Reasoning: 類推(るいすい) - Analogy, (A) is an outstanding example of something.

Limit: 限定(げんてい) - Limit, (A) is all that is needed for something.

Addition: 添加(てんか) - (A) compounds something that is pre-existing.

さえ is regularly paired with other particles and is often followed by verbs in negative form, with the overall meaning usually being determined by what part (B) of the sentence is conveying. Let's look at a few examples.

In each of these cases, we can see how さえ is showing that (A) is an extreme example of something.

Fun Fact

は, も, でも, and さえ are all adverbial particles that can be thought of as having a relationship toward, and away from what is 'expected' in any given situation. This relationship can be seen here:

(A) は - (A) is completely expected, there is nothing unusual.

(A) も - (A) will be included as part of what is expected, but can be unusual.

(A) でも - (A) may or may not be included as part of what is expected, and can be unusual.

(A) さえ - (A) is separated completely from what is expected, and is unusual.

Due to this unexpected and unusual situation that さえ always presents, it is regularly translated as 'let alone (A)', or 'not to mention (A)'.