connective N1 uncommon writtenpolite
〜を兼ねて — serving also as ~
〜を兼ねて ・ をかねて
Meaning
- serving also as / combining with / doubling as — one action deliberately fulfils a second purpose at the same time
Key sentence
散歩を兼ねて買い物に出かけた。
I went out shopping, which also served as a walk.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun naming the secondary purpose | N を兼ねて ／ N を兼ねた + 名詞 |
When: Neutral; common in describing plans that combine two aims.
Examples
挨拶を兼ねて、手土産を持って訪ねた。
I visited with a gift, which also served as a greeting.
実益を兼ねた趣味を探している。
I'm looking for a hobby that doubles as something practical.
Easily confused with
がてら がてら does a side-errand while mainly doing something else, casually and often with movement. を兼ねて frames one act as deliberately fulfilling two set purposes. かたがた かたがた frames a courteous secondary purpose in formal greetings and letters. を兼ねて plainly states that one thing doubles as another. ついでに ついでに tacks an opportunistic extra onto a main errand ('while I'm at it'). を兼ねて plans both purposes together from the start.
See 〜を兼ねて in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜を兼ねて the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.