Grammar Info
N3 Lesson 8: 12/23
に於いてIn, On, At, Regarding, In terms of
For why におく and においた are not used to modify nouns, click here.
Structure
Noun + において
Noun + における (1) + Noun
(1) においての
Details
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Formal
About において・における
において is a combination of the case marking particle に in, and the 接続語 (conjunction) おいて. Either 於いて, or 於ける may be used, with no difference in meaning. において itself is usually translated as 'at', 'in', 'on', or 'regarding'.
において (or における) will be used after nouns, or when connecting one noun to another. In the case of connecting one noun to another, における, or においての will be required.
においての (and における) are primarily used in formal language, and will not commonly be used in daily speech.
Fun Fact
於 is quite an interesting kanji, and has a meaning similar to 'within the scope of'. Basically, it highlights all possible things that exist within a given topic/space. This is what enables the very broad range of meanings that においての and における may be used for.
Related
Examples
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数に於いては劣っているが、力に於いては負けていない。
Although we are fewer in numbers, we aren't losing in strength.
大都市に於ける渋滞の問題は深刻だ。
The problem of traffic jams in big cities is serious.
この文脈に於いての「空」は、「そら」ではなく「から」だと思う。
I think this kanji is read 'kara' rather than 'sora' in this context.
現代に於いて、電気のない生活は考えられない。
In this day and age, it is impossible to think of life without electricity.
東京に於ける環境についての会議を行います。
A meeting concerning the environment will take place in Tokyo.
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[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
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A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar
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において・における – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (19 in total)
mrnoone
English translation:
in・on・at
regarding
in terms ofStructure:
Noun + において
Noun + における / においての + Noun2Explanation:
[Used to point location, state of affairs, period of time and aspect of something in formal language.]View on Bunpro
Anthropos888
Structure seems to be wrong (only において is accepted as correct answer. I tried における before which also was not accepted)
mrnoone
Hey
I have changed sentence a bit (I think it sounds cooler now).
過去 において 問題となっていた点は、もう完全に解決 されました。
Let’s move to question.
It is true that においての and における are used to modify nouns, but using those in the case of sentence above will sound unnatural.
(過去における問題となっていた点は、もう完全に解決 されました。)Because 問題 is used in conjunction with となった (more formal になった) and modifies noun 点, therefore 問題 is not really a noun, but part of 形容詞句 (けいようしく) - adjectival phrase. Basically, when a verb modifies a noun it behaves like adjective.
(Fun fact, における is also 形容詞句 ).
You cannot modify adje...lopicake
Whenever I put において when it wants における it tells me to use the un-conjugated form. Is における really the base form? Why isn’t the て form におけて or におけって then?
mrnoone
You are right
において is not a conjugation of における.
But both expressions come from おく.To solve the riddle why におく or においた are not used to modify noun instead, we have to move back in time. To classical Japanese.
In classical Japanese, unlike in modern Japanese one verb form couldn’t be used to modify nouns (attributive form) and at the same time be used at the end of clauses.
Compare:
Modern:
人が歩いた 歩いた人
Classical:
人*歩きき* *歩きし*人
Now that we know basics, let’s move to mystery of おける。
おける is basically おく in realis form (おけ).The realis form is used for something that has been realized/ happened.
It is opposite of irrealis form (which you know pretty well, because it is ないstem without ない - whi...mrnoone
@lopicake
Check the post abovelopicake
Thank you so much for the breakdown!
I’m not at all knowledgeable about classical Japanese so all you wrote was new to me. But now I can see why this is an exception.
s1212z
日常にちじょう生活せいかつ において 、必要ひつようなものはすべてそろっています。
This is not about the grammar point but rather そろっています…I’m told this is this still correct but just more informal. However, since そろえる is an ichidan verb, I would expect something like そろえています. This seems simple, am I missing some casual form here?
nekoyama
揃える transitive
揃う intransitives1212z
Thanks, I never even considered intransitive given the translation which appears to be a non-passive scenario. Would you still agree? This still looks like a transitive scenario to me:
In daily life, I have gathered everything necessary.
Unless it’s something like: 'In daily life, the necessities are satisfied’…then it would be a translation issues rather than being ungrammatical.
nekoyama
I don’t normally look at the English sentences much. I understood the Japanese as something along the lines of “All the necessities of daily life are there”. The English sentence looks like it wants to differentiate a bit more between において and においての, so maybe “Regarding everyday life, all the necessities are there”? But in natural English this ends up being “I have everything I need” or “We have everything you need” etc.
Don’t trust me with Japanese or even with English, though…
s1212z
Wish I could say the same. These formal expressions or written only grammar points I end up cross-checking much more. I test natives with BunPro and they fail all the time so I guess I don’t feel terribly guilty
@mrnoone, any comments on the english translation from above?
And since において is a highly formal expression, it doesn’t even make sense to me to have it used in personal daily activities provi...
Haruka
I have a question about this example:
東京における環境についての会議を行います。
A meeting concerning the environment will take place in Tokyo.This translation implies this structure: 東京における【環境についての会議】を行います。
But it seems to me that segmenting it as 【東京における環境】についての会議を行います would also be reasonable, which would give “A meeting concerning the environment in Tokyo will take place.”
How do I know which way is meant?
Fuga
When I read this sentence, I also read it as 【東京における環境】についての会議を行います. Since における works like -での and において works like ーで, “A meeting concerning the environment in Tokyo will take place,” might be a better translation for this sentence. I’m just speaking from a native perspective so I could be wrong so I will look deeper into this.
NickavGnaro
I interpreted this as
東京における(環境についての)会議
So if we took away the fluff, it would just be 東京における会議 and it’s just giving additional information about 会議 by modifying it with 環境についての, so I read it as:
“A meeting (about the environment) that takes place in Tokyo.”The other possibility is that 東京における is modifying 環境 (instead of modifying 会議), so then we get 東京における環境 first, and then it’s about that which the meeting is going to be about.
So you could either interpret it as either
- being a meeting that will take place in Tokyo, and the meeting is going to be about the environment in general, or
- a meeting about Tokyo’s environment.
Unless I am mistaken, it could go either way, but the intended meaning (based on Bunpro’s translation) is the former rather than the latter.
Fuga
@NickavGnaro Yes you are correct it really depends on the context of when this was said and in what situation.
@Haruka We have just added a comma after における so that the current translation would fit better.HotAirGun
So that’s why these blue hints teach me kinda completely opposite things.
If I type における here: 現代における、電気のない生活は考えられない。
Hint says: It is more natural to use a conjunction here/not modify the noun. Notice the comma.But if I type において here:
東京において、環境Daru
Could you provide more feedback around what’s confusing you with the hints?
Madsgeltingbech
Can anybody help me to understand why I cannot use の点で for the following sentence? The correct answer is supposed to be において.
Dwrlesky
I also have a question about that same sentence.
In my case I tried to use で言うと but it’s wrong. I was thinking along the lines “Speaking in numbers, we are fewer, but speaking in strength we won’t lose”.
I guess I’m misunderstanding something? Also no idea why の点で is not useable.
Some clarification would be much appreciated.
- I thought about it again an 数で言うとは sounds kind of weird to me because of the は. Could I use it if the は is dropped?
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