敢えて

Japanese

Kanji in this term
敢
あ Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
敢て

Etymology

敢(あ)え (ae, 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 敢(あ)ふ (afu, “to bear, endure”)) + て (te, conjunctive suffix)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あえて [áꜜètè] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [a̠e̞te̞]

• (Kyoto) あえ​て [àéꜜtè] (Teiki)^[4]

Adverb

敢(あ)えて • (aete) ^{←あへて (afete)?}

1. going ahead and doing something despite knowing it to be impossible, daring
2. particularly

   あえて難(むずか)しくする

   aete muzukashiku suru

   to deliberately make it difficult

Related terms

• とりあえず (toriaezu, “at once”)

References

1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
3. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
4. “あえ‐て［あへ‥］ 【敢─・肯─】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here