につけ

The grammar pattern につけ expresses the idea of "every time" or "whenever" something happens, a certain feeling, thought, or reaction naturally arises. It emphasizes that the trigger consistently leads to the same emotional or mental response.

Verb + につけ

When attached to verbs, につけ means "every time ~ happens" or "whenever I ~". The verb is in its dictionary form.

The reaction that follows につけ is typically an emotion, thought, or involuntary response – not a deliberate action. This is an important distinction: you would not use につけ to describe a conscious decision you make each time something happens.

～につけ～につけ (paired form: "whether ~ or ~")

A common pattern is to use につけ twice with contrasting or related words to mean "whether ~ or ~" or "in any case". This emphasizes that regardless of the situation, the result is the same.

Common fixed pairs include:

• よい良いにつけわるい悪いにつけ – whether good or bad
• うれしい嬉しいにつけかなしい悲しいにつけ – whether happy or sad
• みる見るにつけきく聞くにつけ – whether seeing or hearing

Nuances

• につけ is a written/literary expression and is more formal than similar patterns like 〜～たびに (every time).
• The clause after につけ typically describes feelings or thoughts that arise naturally, not intentional actions.
• It can also appear as につけて or につけても with slightly different nuances, but につけ alone is the most standard N2 form.