敢えて is an adverb meaning "dare to", "deliberately", or "purposely". It conveys the idea of intentionally choosing to do something difficult, risky, unconventional, or normally avoided – often despite knowing the consequences or going against expectations. It implies a conscious, bold decision rather than something done carelessly.
Deliberately doing something difficult or risky
The most common usage of is to express that someone intentionally does something that would normally be avoided or that goes against the expected course of action.
。
I dared to express an opposing opinion.
。
I deliberately chose the dangerous path.
The nuance here is that the speaker is fully aware of the difficulty or risk but proceeds anyway, often because they believe it is the right thing to do or because there is a reason worth the risk.
Deliberately not doing something
can also be used with negative forms to express that someone **deliberately refrains** from doing something – choosing not to act when action might be expected.
。
I deliberately said nothing.
ませ。
I will purposely not explain in detail.
Softening bold statements
is sometimes used as a rhetorical softener when making a bold or potentially controversial statement, similar to "if I may be so bold" or "I'll venture to say" in English.
、。
If I may be blunt, I think this plan will fail.
Usage notes
- is relatively formal and literary. In casual conversation, expressions like (on purpose) or written in hiragana are more common, though the meaning of leans more toward "on purpose" without the nuance of boldness or going against the norm.
- often pairs with verbs of action or speech, and it typically appears before the verb it modifies.
- It can also be used in the pattern 敢えて〜する必要はない to mean "there is no need to go out of one's way to do something."
。
There is no need to deliberately take risks.
Lingaku