The Japanese particle: Sae(さえ) – “Only”, “Even”, and “Didn’t even”.: Although a bit confusing, -sae is actually quite an advanced word that when used might make people think you’re more fluent than you really are. It’s mainly used in casual conversations and can mean different things depending on your context and usage.
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Japanese particle: Sae(さえ) Overview
Originally, this comes from the Japanese verb 添える (soeru: to add/in addition to). Along with the times, it was eventually used as a particle to describe the minimum requirement of something and amongst other usages, “even” and “not even”. Both usages are still used today with でさえ used only with nouns. Confused yet? Don’t worry, you are not alone!. Hopefully, the more you go through this blog, the better you’ll understand so let’s get started!
Japanese particle: Sae(さえ)-Noun Use
Noun + de sae/ Noun + sae (“..even…”, “..not even…”, “…only”)
As mentioned above, -sae/-desae is usually used with nouns as it can be used in different ways depending on the context. Let’s look at the example below.
たべものさえあれば、ほかになにもいらない。
Tabemono sae areba, hokani nani mo iranai.
If there's only food/If I have food only/As long as I have food, I don't need anything else.
たべもの(tabemono: food) ➔ たべもの＋さえ(sae) ＝ たべものさえ (tabemonosae: only food)
In the above sentence, sae is used as a way of expressing the minimum requirement of something or in English, “…only”. In our Japanese example above, the speaker is expressing how they only need to have food as a bare minimum to pretty much survive! A few examples of it’s equivalent in English are “As long as you have imagination/If you only have imagination, anything is possible”, “As long as she practices/If you only she practices, she can be better.”. Its focus is on how the noun is the minimum needed for whatever your sentence is pertaining to.
Let’s look at another example with a different context. This time, -sae/de is used as “even” in a sentence.
そのしけんはかんたんすぎる。こどもでさえできそう！
Sono shiken wa kantan sugiru. Kodomo de sae dekisou!
That test was too easy. Even children seem like they can do it!
In the example above, -de sae is used to express the phrase, “even”. It somehow touches on the noun being the bare minimum as our first example above but in this situation, it pertains to the noun being the bare minimum in comparison to something general. A few English phrases can be “Even dogs can swim”, “I heard even the president is sick”, and “I just started reading the book and I can’t even understand the first page”.
One more way you can use -sae/-desae is when you want to mention a quote. In this situation, the quote or phrase goes before -sae and takes on the english equivalent of “even”. A few phrases in English that have the same equivalent are “She even said that she liked me.”, “They even said they would help me study”, and “Ken even said he would cook it for me.”. Please look at the example below for your reference.
かれはきのうかいものしましたとさえいったのに。。。
Kare wa kinou kaimono shimashita to sae itta no ni…
He even said that he went shopping yesterday...
As mentioned above, you can also incorporate -sae/de sae with negative verbs, changing “even” to “can’t even”. Please look below for a sample sentence.
かんたんなことばでさえわかりません。
Kantan na kotoba de sae wakarimasen.
I can’t even understand easy words.
And here are a few more sample sentences for your reference!
| English phrase | Sentence example |
| …only/as long as he eats | かれはたべることさえもんだいがないです。Kare wa taberu koto sae mondai ga nai desu (polite).As long as he eats, there won’t be any complications/problems. |
| …even for Japanese people | かんじはにほんじんでさえむずかしい。Kanji wa Nihon jin de sae muzukashii. (informal)Kanji is difficult even for Japanese people. |
| ….even fish | さかなでさえおぼれられる。Sakana de sae oborerareru.Even fish can drown. |
| ….can’t even cook | ゆでたまごでさえりょうりすることができません！Yude tamago de sae ryouri suru koto ga dekimasen!I can’t even cook a boiled egg! |
Japanese particle: Sae(さえ)-Verb use
For -sae, it’s a bit tricky because the form of the verb changes depending on the verbs usage. Here are a few good to know rules when using -sae/de sae with verbs.
- いきます（ikimasu: to go）➔ いく (iku) + こと ( koto) ➔ いくことさえ(Iku koto sae)
- いきます（ikimasu: to go）➔ いく (iku) + こと ( koto）+ particle (to/ni/wo) + さえ(sae)➔ いくことさえ (iku koto sae)
- いきます（ikimasu: to go）➔ いく (iku) + の (no) ➔ いくのさえ (iku no sae)
- いきます（ikimasu: to go）➔ いく (iku)➔ いって (itte) + さえ (sae)➔ いってさえ (ittesae)
- いきます（ikimasu: to go）➔ いき
ます➔ いき(iki) + さえ (sae) ➔ いきさえ
As you know, -sae/de sae is pretty much used for “even” and “only” for nouns. For verbs it does serve almost the same function, mainly expressing the bare minimum needed in a situation. In some cases, it can be used to talk about regret (ie. “If only I had studied more, I could’ve passed the test), or even talking about something fulfilling a condition/status and it being enough for the speaker (ie. “Keep it a secret and I will take you here again”). Again, these are all expressed using verbs with -sae attached.
Here are a few sentence samples.
| English phrase | Sentence example |
| As long as you exercise… | まいにちうんどうしてさえいたらなおるとおもいます。Mainichi undoushitesae itara naoru to omoimasu. (polite).I think all you need to do is exercise everyday to feel better. |
| If only I practiced more… | わたしはもっとれんしゅうさえすればじょうずになります。Watashi wa motto renshuu sae sureba jyouzu ni narimasu. I would have been good at it if only I practiced more. |