Every time: 〜につけ
Verb (dictionary) + につけ ; 何かにつけて ; 〜につけ〜につけ
Verb of perception + につけ: every time you see, hear or think about something, a feeling comes back. 何かにつけて = “at every opportunity”; いいにつけ悪いにつけ = “for better or worse”. Written register.
In short
〜につけ says that every time you see, hear or think about something, the same feeling wells up, without your wanting it to: “every time I see…, I…”. It's used with a small number of verbs of perception or thought (見る, 聞く, 思う, 考える, 思い出す). Two fixed expressions go with it: 何かにつけて (“at every opportunity”) and AにつけBにつけ (“whether A or B”). Written, somewhat literary register.
- この写真を見るにつけ、子どものころを思い出す。このしゃしんをみるにつけ、こどものころをおもいだす。Every time I look at this photo, I think back to my childhood.
- 故郷の話を聞くにつけ、一度帰りたくなる。こきょうのはなしをきくにつけ、いちどかえりたくなる。Every time I hear about my home town, I feel like going back.
- 母は何かにつけて電話をかけてくる。はははなにかにつけてでんわをかけてくる。My mother rings me at every opportunity.
The basics
につけ links a perception (seeing, hearing, thinking about) with a feeling that comes back every time, despite yourself: nostalgia, worry, emotion, regret. It's not a simple repetition of actions: it's a trigger that always awakens the same emotion.
So the second part says what you feel or what comes to mind: 思い出す, 胸が痛む, 心配になる, 〜たくなる, 感じる.
Every time I look at this photo, I think back to my childhood.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- 彼の活躍を聞くにつけ、自分もがんばらなければと思う。かれのかつやくをきくにつけ、じぶんもがんばらなければとおもう。Every time I hear about his successes, I tell myself I need to keep at it too.
How to form it
The verb is in the dictionary form, and it's almost always the same few: 見る, 聞く, 思う, 考える, 思い出す. Two fixed expressions complete the picture.
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb + につけ | every time (feeling) | 見るにつけ、聞くにつけ |
| 何かにつけて | at every opportunity, over the slightest thing | 何かにつけて文句を言う |
| A につけ B につけ | whether A or B | いいにつけ悪いにつけ |
- 名古屋の祭りの写真を見るにつけ、あの夏を思い出す。なごやのまつりのしゃしんをみるにつけ、あのなつをおもいだす。Every time I see photos of Nagoya's festivals, I think back to that summer.
- いいにつけ悪いにつけ、彼はいつも話題の中心にいる。いいにつけわるいにつけ、かれはいつもわだいのちゅうしんにいる。For better or worse, he's always the talk of the town.
何かにつけて: at every opportunity
何かにつけて (or 何かにつけ) is the most common use in speech. It describes a habit, often an annoying one: someone seizes any opportunity to do the same thing (complain, compare, phone).
- 上司は何かにつけて、前の会社と比べる。じょうしはなにかにつけて、まえのかいしゃとくらべる。My boss compares everything with his old company, at every opportunity.
につけ or たびに?
たびに (N3) is neutral and works everywhere: any repeated action, followed by any fact (名古屋に行くたびに、ういろうを買う). につけ is more literary and narrower: a verb of perception, then a feeling.
Don't confuse it with につれて (N3) either, which describes a gradual change: 年をとるにつれて, “as one gets older”.
| Construction | Idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜につけ | every time, an emotion wells up | 写真を見るにつけ、なつかしくなる |
| 〜たびに | every time, any fact | 行くたびに買う |
| 〜につれて | as, in step with | 年をとるにつれて |
- 名古屋に行くたびに、ういろうを買って帰る。なごやにいくたびに、ういろうをかってかえる。Every time I go to Nagoya, I bring back some uirō. (たびに: a simple habit)
Common mistakes
- Using it for a deliberate, repeated action (×行くにつけ、ういろうを買う): for a habit, it's たびに.
- Leaving out the feeling in the second part: につけ calls for an emotion or memory that wells up.
- Mixing up につけ (“every time”) and につれて (“as, in step with”).
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line (Rites and daily life) of the Nagoya lines.