Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 13/20

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

Structure

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

Details

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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(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'.

Examples

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    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 – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • 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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