折角(せっかく)With trouble, At great pains, Take the trouble, Might as well..., Rare/long-awaited occasion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

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  s1212z

  with trouble, at great pains, take the trouble, might as well…, rare/long awaited occasion

  Structure

  • せっかく + Phrase
  • Phrase、 せっかく + の + Noun expressing event

  [せっかくA,B。 - after great efforts to achieve A, B. or long awaited/rare A happens, B. ]

  [Often used together with のに、け(れ)ど(も)、ですが when expressing regret of not being able to utilize A and だから when expressing plan/wish/hope to utilize A]

  [せっかく often emphasizes something desireable (met or unmet)・わざわざ often places emphasis on the effort]

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  @mrnoone, @Jake

  How interchangeable is わざわざ and せっかく？

  • feel free to edit the entry, I know this ...
• 

  mrnoone

  Hey

  I will try to break down both grammar points and highlight the differences and similarities.

  First of all, both are adverbs.

  せっかく means that something is considered to have high value for the speaker, it is desirable. Something achieved through effort or rare chance/occasion.

  Often used with だから, meaning that the speaker wants to make use of that occasion or のに (けど、が, etc) when the occasion was unfortunately wasted.

  わざわざ means that someone puts effort to do something that takes a lot of time, labor when there is no need to do it, or there is some easier way. It can also express doing something on purpose. One goes out of his/her way to do something. bothers to do something.

  Armed in this basic knowledge, let’s do some analysis:
  Fact: デートに行った
  You don’t know whether speaker subjectively...

• 

  s1212z

  Wow, this is such a thorough response, thank you @mrnoone! This make more sense now. The first person perspective of わざわざ was unknown to me but it’s such an important nuance between the usage of せっかく; the inflection is completely different! I see how one could cause trouble if not careful. If you have the わざわざ entry, I would definitely add this response as I’m sure someone may ask the same question again some day.

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  eefara

  Wow, what a great breakdown! I’d give you 10 hearts if I could!

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  Johnathan-Weir

  There is a set of 4 videos starting with this one that do a pretty good job explaining all the uses of せっかく
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  pandashoujo

  I’m struggling to tell whether the word that comes after せっかく is a “phrase” or a “noun expressing event.” What’s the difference…?

• 

  Daru

  @pandashoujo
  Phrase would be just any old sentence, where a Noun expressing an event would be something like 大会、忘年会, etc. Just something that refers to an event.

  @Johnathan-Weir
  Added this to the resources, thank you!