particle N3 common casualpolitewritten
でさえ — even ~
でさえ
Meaning
- even ~ — the emphatic 'even' of さえ, used on a noun (often the subject) to set up an extreme case
Key sentence
専門家でさえ、その問題には答えられなかった。
Even an expert couldn't answer that question.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | N + でさえ | 大人でさえ / 一秒でさえ |
Examples
大人でさえ怖がるのだから、子どもならなおさらだ。
Even adults are scared of it, so all the more for children.
今は一秒でさえ無駄にできない。
Right now we can't waste even a single second.
Easily confused with
See でさえ in real sentences
Jengo shows でさえ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.