Topic N3
Japanese Learning
97. さえ : Even / As much as.
✏️Structure
Noun + さえ💡Usage
Emphasizes extreme case. "Even...", "As much as...".
📚Examples
忙しくて時間がない時は、ゆっくり座って朝ご飯を食べる時間さえない日がよくある。
Isogashikute jikan ga nai toki wa, yukkuri suwatte asagohan wo taberu jikan sae nai hi ga yoku aru.
When I am busy and don't have time, there are often days when I don't even have time to sit down slowly and eat breakfast.
彼は日本に住んで十年以上になるのに、簡単なひらがなさえほとんど読めないらしい。
Kare wa Nihon ni sunde juunen ijou ni naru noni, kantan na hiragana sae hotondo yomenai rashii.
Even though he has been living in Japan for over ten years, it seems he can hardly read even simple hiragana.
突然の事故でとてもショックを受けて、泣くことさえできないままただ立ち尽くしていた。
Totsuzen no jiko de totemo shokku wo ukete, naku koto sae dekinai mama tada tachitsukushite ita.
Feeling very shocked by the sudden accident, I just stood there still without even being able to cry.
この問題は専門家の先生でさえ間違えるほどですから、私たちが解けないのは当然です。
Kono mondai wa senmonka no sensei de sae machigaeru hodo desu kara, watashitachi ga tokenai no wa touzen desu.
Since this problem is so difficult that even expert teachers make mistakes, it's natural that we can't solve it.
新しく買ったパソコンは使い方が複雑すぎて、電源を入れることさえ一苦労させられる。
Atarashiku katta pasokon wa tsukaikata ga fukuzatsu sugite, dengen wo ireru koto sae hitokurou saserareru.
The newly bought computer is so complicated to use that even turning on the power is a struggle.
風邪をこじらせてしまって喉が痛く、ご飯を飲むことさえ辛くて水しか飲めない。
Kaze wo kojirasete shimatte nodo ga itaku, gohan wo nomu koto sae tsurakute mizu shika nomenai.
I aggravated my cold and my throat hurts, and it is painful even to swallow food, so I can only drink water.
財布や携帯電話さえ持っていれば、今の時代はどこへ行っても困ることは全くないだろう。
Saifu ya keitai denwa sae motte ireba, ima no jidai wa doko e itte mo komaru koto wa mattaku nai darou.
As long as you have even your wallet and mobile phone, you probably won't have any trouble anywhere you go in this day and age.
彼はお金がないと言っているが、実は家や車だけでなく小さな別荘さえ持っているらしい。
Kare wa okane ga nai to itte iru ga, jitsu wa ie ya kuruma dake de naku chiisana bessou sae motte iru rashii.
He says he has no money, but actually it seems he has not only a house and a car but even a small villa.
そんな簡単な漢字さえ書けないようでは、これから先の試験に合格するのは絶対に無理だ。
Sonna kantan na kanji sae kakenai you de wa, kore kara saki no shiken ni goukaku suru no wa zettai ni muri da.
If you can't even write such simple kanji, it is absolutely impossible to pass the exams from now on.
自分の名前さえ呼んでもらえないような寂しい生活に、彼女はもう耐えられなくなった。
Jibun no namae sae yonde moraenai you na sabishii seikatsu ni, kanojo wa mou taerarenaku natta.
She could no longer endure such a lonely life where she couldn't even have her name called.