Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 6: 15/17

(おり)にはWhen, Occasion, Opportunity, Time

Rarely written as 折りには

Structure

Verb + (おり)(に(1)
[い]Adjective + (おり)(に(1)
[な]Adjective + + (おり)(に(1)
Noun + + (おり)(に(1)

(1)

Details

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    Formal

About 折には

When the noun (おり) 'fold' or 'pleat' is used adverbially with the case marking particle に, it indicates a time which may be used as an opportunity to do something. It is often translated as 'on the occasion of (A)', or 'when the chance of (A) comes up'. It is an expression that is primarily used as a formal, positive alternative for (とき)に, but there are times that it may indicate something negative.

(おり)に may be seen after any structure that could connect to a noun, but will primarily appear after verbs in their standard forms, or nouns followed by の.

Additionally, (おり)に may occasionally appear as (おり)には, but the additional は is often omitted.

In most cases, (おり)に will be used to indicate things that happen 'from time to time', rather than one off events.

Caution

(おり)に appears in several common expressions that each have a slightly different meaning.

  • (おり)(ふれ)れて - On the occasion of (A), always (B).
  • (おり)があれば - If there is the chance of (A), (B).
  • (おり)()て - When the conditions are good for (A).
  • (おり)(おり) - At the exact moment of (A).

Examples

--:--

    メール、本社(ほんしゃ)上司(じょうし):「お(ひま)(おり)ぜひ()支店(してん)にお()しください。」

    E-mail to a superior from the head office: 'Please, make sure to come to our branch when you are free.'

    手紙(てがみ):「新春(しんしゅん)のお支度(したく)にお(いそが)しい(おり)から、風邪(かぜ)などひかれぬようご自愛(じあい)(くだ)さい。」

    Letter: 'Please take care not to catch a cold at this busy time of preparations for a new year.'

    (ちか)くにいらっしゃる(おり)には、ぜひうちにご(はん)()べに()てください!

    On the chance that you will be close by, you’re certainly welcome to come to my place to eat!

    宴会(えんかい)をする(おり)には、ぜひうちの居酒屋(いざかや)をご利用(りよう)くださいませ!

    On the occasion of having a banquet gathering, you’re certainly welcome to make use of our izakaya.

    オーストラリアへ()(おり)には、ぜひカンガルーのお(にく)()べてみてください。

    At the opportunity of coming to Australia, certainly try eating kangaroo meat.

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      折には – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

      • Jake

        Jake

        when, occasion, opportunity, time

        Structure

        • Verb + + (に/には/は)
        • い-Adj + + (に/には/は)
        • な-Adj + な + + (に/には/は)
        • Noun + の + + (に/には/は)

        View on Bunpro

      • andrewkfiedler

        andrewkfiedler

        For the question: メール、本社の上司に:「お暇____ぜひ我が支店にお越しください。」

        I was thinking の + based on の being a noun, but since it is an adjective as well it’s supposed to be な.

        Is it possible both are correct? Or does the context make hima an adjective in this case?

      • nekoyama

        nekoyama

        Normally, only な is used.

        暇 is always a na adjective since that’s a property of the word, it’s just not always used adjectivally. But in this case it is.

        But in a sense, “context” also plays a role. For some reason the na adjective 暇 tends to be used with な with words like 折 or 時 and in many other cases, while the na adjective 多忙 (opposite of 暇) uses の like in ご多忙の折.

      • Crazywater

        Crazywater

        I keep mixing up 折に with 際に. They seem to be mostly synonymous, but Bunpro doesn’t tell me when it wants the other one, it just fails the question so when are they not interchangeable?

      • casual

        casual

        According to DoAJG p507, 際 is acceptable when you cannot say that you are “taking advantage of a good occasion” and therefore 折 is not acceptable.
        For example:

        卒業の{際・折}に彼女に振られた。

        It would be nice for Bunpro to help distinguish those.

      • casual

        casual

        Bunpro article says:

        In most cases, ()に will be used to indicate things that happen ‘from time to time’, rather than one off events.

        But is this really true, and if it is, what is the alternative for one off events? Or is this just trying to convey that once-in-a-lifetime events happen less frequently than other occasions.

        Bunpro’s example sentences do include one-off events such as graduation, meeting a famous author, first trip to Paris.

      • casual

        casual

        That’s quite a confusing case.
        Online search gives pretty much 0 results for both お暇な折に and お暇の折に. Either search doesn’t pick examples up, or people don’t actually use the word ひま when sending mails to superiors?
        JP-JP dictionary lists ひま as a noun, but JMdict lists it as both noun and na-adjective.
        hinative has both people saying 暇な時間 and 暇の時間 are both valid, but な is more popular lately, and people saying の is no good.

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