さえ
- Particle
- さえ
- Function
- Extreme inclusive 'even'
- Level
- N2
- How it works
Attaches to nouns to present an extreme example, implying that if even this happens, everything else follows.
- Example
Kare wa kanji sae yomenai. He cannot even read kanji.
- Versus
も (mo) simply means 'also', whereas さえ (sae) implies an extreme, surprising case ('even').