Structure
せっかく + Phrase
せっかく + の + Noun (of Event)
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Standard
使用域
一般
About 折角
折角(せっかく) is an idiomatic adverb that is often used to express doing something 'with trouble', 'at great pains', or 'to be a rare/long-awaited occasion'. Being an adverb that often modifies the meaning of a whole sentence, it will commonly appear at the beginning of a statement. When 折角 is nominating an event as being long awaited, it will appear directly before the event, separated only by the case marking particle の.
- せっかく君が欲しかった靴を買ってあげたのに友達にあげたの?最悪。I took great trouble to get you the shoes that you wanted, but you gave them to your friend? How inconsiderate.
- せっかく休みを取ったのに雨が降ったから予定が台無しだ。I went through the trouble to get a day off, but it rained, so my plans were ruined.
- せっかくの誕生日会を台無しにしてごめんなさい。Sorry for ruining your long awaited birthday party.
- 台風のせいで、せっかくの休暇が中止になった。Due to the typhoon, my long awaited vacation has been canceled.
Fun Fact
There are several guesses for where 折角 originates. One of the most common is that it is an abbreviation for 頭巾の角を折る 'to fold the horn (tail) of a hood'. This was something that a famous confucian did intentionally to protect his hood from getting wet in the rain. The people of the time started to copy the act, and 折角 also came to be used as an idiom to mean 'intentionally', or 'to go out of one's way to do something'.Examples
せっかく日本語を毎日数時間勉強したのに、日本語能力試験に落ちたかと心配して落ち込んだ。
I took great trouble to study Japanese for hours each day, but I got worried about whether I had passed the JLPT or not, and got depressed.
せっかく異世界に転移したのに、チートをもらうどころか、ただの自動販売機になった。
Even though I went through the trouble of being transported to a parallel universe, instead of getting cool powers, I became a simple vending machine.
せっかくのデートが風邪でつぶれた。ちょっと残念だよ。
A long-awaited date was spoiled because I caught a cold. It is a little disappointing.
妻のためにせっかく家を構築したけど、離婚した。努力はみんな無駄だった。落ち込んでいる。
Even though I went through great pains to build a house for my wife, we divorced. All of my efforts were in vain. I feel down.
せっかくの友達との遠足だから、たくさん遊びたい。
Since this trip with friends is a rare occasion, I want to have a lot of fun.
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In depth comparison of わざわざ and せっかく
Japanese StackExchange
わざわざ vs. せっかく
Bunpro Community [mrnoone]
【N3 Japanese grammar 】"sekkaku"「せっかく」No.1
Yuri's Japanese School
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Tobira
Page 219, Pt. 16
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 392
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 93
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折角 – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (6 in total)
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
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!
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