さえ／にさえ／でさえ
さえ／にさえ／でさえ
Study timer1:00 leftStudy 1 min to mark this lesson as studied
Yuzuo Chan
|
11.06.2025
Meaning
Even (X) – raises an extreme or minimal example to suggest that everything else naturally follows.
Conjugation
(A)N + さえ (replaces は/が/を): (A)N + (に／で／と／から／へ) + さえ
Examples
Show translation
この問題は、子供でさえ答えられるほど簡単だ。
子供でさえ読めるのだから、あなたが読めないと困る。
忙しくて、昼ご飯を食べる時間さえない。
親にさえ言えない悩みがある。
難しそうな本だったが、読んでみると面白くさえあった。
彼は私の顔を見てさえくれなかった。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.title
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.wrong: たくさん食べてさえお腹がいっぱいにならない。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.correct: たくさん食べてもお腹がいっぱいにならない。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.why: In this sentence, さえ cannot replace ても to mean 'even if/even though'. Use ても for this meaning; さえ marks an extreme example.
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.wrong: お茶さえ飲みませんか。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.correct: お茶でもどうですか。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.why: In invitations and suggestions, use でも ('something like tea'). さえ means 'even' and cannot be used this way.
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.wrong: 水がさえ飲めない。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.correct: 水さえ飲めない。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.why: さえ replaces は/が/を after the noun; do not stack が/を in front of it. Particles such as に, で, と, から are kept (親にさえ, 子供でさえ).
Key points
Used to say that if even this extreme case is true, the rest is certainly true as well; it is very often used with negatives ("can't even…"). It is stronger than も and is more common and conversational than the formal すら. でも can sometimes replace さえ for 'even' (子供でも), but only さえ/すら carry the 'extreme example' emphasis, and でも in suggestions (お茶でも) cannot be swapped with さえ.
Practise this pattern with a free account
- 1 practice exercise a day
- 1 quiz a day to check what you remember
- Save lessons to review later
- Daily learning streaks and progress tracking
- 5 native-audio example sentences a day
Send feedbackRate for the lesson
Comment(0)
Write your comment
Send