Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 7: 17/17

わ〜わで

And...so, And...because, Since

Structure

(A) (1)+ + (B) (1) +

(1) Verb[る][い]Adjective[な]Adjective + 、Noun +

Details

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About わ〜わ(で)

As mentioned in the grammar point, わ is an adverbial particle that is commonly used in cases of stress of emphasis in Japanese. When used after either verbs, い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, or nouns in their standard forms, it generally implies that (A) and (B) are negative factors that have lead to (C), where (C) is either a negative outcome, or a negative opinion. It will often be translated simply as 'with (A) and (B), (C)'.
To use this structure, simply place わ after a word, and then repeat the same after a second (different) word. In the case of な-Adjective or nouns, だわ will be used. The case-marking particle で will then follow the second わ, indicating 'with', or 'as a consequence of'.
  • 昨日(きのう)はクライアントに(おこ)られる自分(じぶん)上司(じょうし)暴言(ぼうげん)()かれるわで大変(たいへん)だった。
    I had a bad day yesterday because my client was mad at me and because my boss yelled at me.
  • このアパートはボロい(せま)わで最悪(さいあく)物件(ぶっけん)だ。
    This apartment sucks because it is run-down and small.
  • (あたら)しく(はい)ってきた新人(しんじん)はクライアントには無礼(ぶれい)、クレーム対応(たいおう)下手(へた)わで、どこから教育(きょういく)していいかわからない。
    The newbie that just joined is rude to our clients and bad at handling complaints, so I don't know how I should train him.
  • 携帯(けいたい)()ってくれたこと自体(じたい)(うれ)しかったんだけと、5(ねん)(まえ)のモデルだ画面(がめん)()れているわで使(つか)(もの)にならなそうだったから、自分(じぶん)(あたら)しい携帯(けいたい)()った。
    I am happy that they bought me a phone, but it was a 5 year old model and the screen was broken and didn't look like I would be able to use it, so I went ahead and bought myself a new phone.
わ~わで, like , primarily emphasizes the speaker's surprise in regard to the words that appear before it. However, unlike , where the same verb will be repeated in order to highlight an excessive extent, わ~わで simply indicates surprise in terms of irritation or frustration. This structure is predominantly used by men, but it may also sometimes be used by women. However, there are several different variations of わ depending on where they appear in sentences, each of which have gender usage tendencies that will need to be learned.
In essence, is used in the same way as し~し, where the words that they are being attached to are just being listed as reasons. Additionally, the で may occasionally be omitted.
Fun Fact
わ is simply an emphatic version of the usual は adverbial particle, and originates from は being changed to わ. Due to this, the literal meaning can be thought of as a stronger version of the standard 'as for (A)' meaning of は.
Caution
While this grammar pattern is used almost exclusively with a negative nuance, it may, in rare cases, have a positive nuance.
  • 今年(ことし)(たから)くじには()たる長年(ながねん)()()っていた彼氏(かれし)にプロポーズされるわで(しあわ)せなことが沢山(たくさん)あってとても(うれ)しい。
    I am very happy this year because I won the lottery and my boyfriend of many years is going to propose to me. (Positive meaning)

Examples

  • A:「顔色(かおいろ)(わる)。」
    B:「そうなんだ昨日(きのう)(よる)、ルームメイトうるさ()たくさんさされるちっとも(ねむ)なかった。」

    A: 'Oh, you look pale!'
    B: 'Yeah, I know. I couldn't sleep at all last night because of my noisy roommate and all the mosquito bites.'

  • 今朝(けさ)通勤時(つうきんじ)は、(きゅう)(あめ)()てくる(かさ)(こわ)れる大変(たいへん)だった。」

    'I had a hard time getting to work this morning because it suddenly started raining and my umbrella broke.'

  • 今日(きょう)タンス小指(こゆび)つけ(みち)つまず、ついてなかった。」

    'I was not lucky today because I hit my little finger on the dresser and tripped on the street.'

  • (あさ)から(いぬ)()えられる(とり)ウンチ(あたま)()てくる…(最低(さいてい)1(にち)だったわ)。」

    'The dogs barked at me in the morning and the bird pooped on my head, so... (it was a horrible day.)'

  • あのレストラン料理(りょうり)(むし)(はい)ってる、クレームいったら()れられる最低(さいてい)だった。」

    'Speaking of that restaurant, it was the worst since they had bugs in the food, and when I complained about it, I was ignored.'

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わ〜わ(で) – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (1 in total)

  • djcostcosamples

    djcostcosamples

    Is this the same kind of わ that we see as a sentence-ending particle (w/ falling intonation, the neutral/masc. version)?

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