日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

~であれ~であれ

~de are ~de are

whether...or

When to use it

Use ~であれ~であれ in formal writing or prepared speech to say that a rule, judgment, or conclusion holds regardless of which of two (or more) alternatives applies. It is the written-register counterpart of the spoken ~でも~でも and the more argumentative ~であろうと~であろうと, and appears often in policy documents, reports, contracts, and formal email. The second clause typically states an obligation, a general principle, or an unchanging outcome — not a one-off event.

Formation

  • Nouns: noun + であれ / noun + であれ → 社内であれ社外であれ
  • Na-adjectives: stem + であれ → 一時的であれ恒久的であれ
  • I-adjectives: not used with であれ; the parallel classical form is ~かれ~かれ (多かれ少なかれ、良かれ悪しかれ) — otherwise switch to ~くても~くても or ~かろうと~かろうと
  • Verbs: not possible directly; nominalize (~する場合であれ) or use ~ようと~ようと/~であろうと
  • Often extended to three items, or paired with 誰/どこ/いつ + であれ for a single-element "whoever/wherever" reading: 相手が誰であれ…
  • The consequent clause commonly ends in 必要だ・変わらない・~なければならない・~べきだ

Examples

  • Whether in person or online, we always keep minutes.

  • Whether the amount is small or large, an approval request must be submitted.

  • Whether inside or outside the company, information must be handled with care.

  • Whether temporary or permanent, a price increase calls for full explanation.

  • Whether the client is a major firm or an SME, the terms are uniform.