文法の説明

N3 レッスン 10: 13/20

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

使い方・接続

せっかく + Phrase
せっかく + の + Noun (of Event)

詳細

  • 使用域

    一般

「折角」の情報

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(せっかく) is nominating an event as being long awaited, it will appear directly before the event, separated only by the case marking particle の.

Fun Fact

There are several guesses for where 折角(せっかく) originates. One of the most common is that it is an abbreviation for 頭巾(ずきん)の角(つの)を折(お)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(せっかく) also came to be used as an idiom to mean 'intentionally', or 'to go out of one's way to do something'.

例文

--:--

    折角(せっかく)この旅行(りょこう)の準備(じゅんび)してきたのに....

    Despite going through all the trouble to finish preparations for the trip...

    折角(せっかく)の友達(ともだち)との遠足(えんそく)だから、たくさん遊(あそ)びたい。

    Since this trip with friends is a rare occasion, I want to have a lot of fun.

    折角(せっかく)のデートが風邪(かぜ)でつぶれた。ちょっと残念(ざんねん)だよ。

    A long-awaited date was spoiled because I caught a cold. It is a little disappointing.

    折角(せっかく)大学(だいがく)を卒業(そつぎょう)したんだから、いい会社(かいしゃ)で働(はたら)くつもりだ。

    Because I graduated university at great pains, I plan to make use of it by finding a good job.

    折角(せっかく)高性能(こうせいのう)のコンピューターを買(か)ったんだから、新(あたら)しいゲームをしようと思(おも)う。

    Since I went through great pains to purchase a high-end computer, I am going to make use of it by playing new games.

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「折角」に関する文法ディスカッション

最近の返信 (合計6件)

  • s1212z

    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]

    View on Bunpro

    @mrnoone, @Jake

    How interchangeable is わざわざ and せっかく？

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

    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

    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.

  • eefara

    eefara

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

  • Johnathan-Weir

    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

    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

    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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