Japanese from zero · N1 Lesson 5
The entrance ceremony
〜をもって / 〜をもちまして ・ 〜べく ・ 〜に先駆けて ・ 〜を機に ・ 〜たるもの
In this lesson, you will learn the formal Japanese of a company ceremony: to say that something starts or ends at a set moment with 〜をもって and 〜をもちまして, that you act in order to reach a goal with 〜べく, that someone did something ahead of everyone else with 〜に先駆けて, that you made a fresh start on the occasion of an event with 〜を機に, and what anyone in a role must do with 〜たるもの. On April 1, Lisa joins Ai's trading company.
By the end you will be able to say
本日をもって、私は この 会社の 社員に なりました。As of today, I am an employee of this company.
日本と 世界を つなぐべく、努力いたします。I will work hard to link Japan and the world.
当社は 業界に先駆けて、西海岸との 取引を 始めました。Our company began trading with the West Coast ahead of the rest of the industry.
入社を機に、仕事の 日誌を 書く ことに しました。To mark joining the company, I decided to keep a work diary.
社会人たるもの、時間は 必ず 守るべきです。Anyone who is a working adult must always be on time.
The grammar in this lesson
- 〜をもって / 〜をもちまして — as of; with (this), formally — A time word + をもって marks the formal moment something begins or ends; をもちまして is the politer form an announcer or host uses.
- 〜べく — in order to (formal) — A verb's dictionary form + べく says you act with a goal in mind; it is the formal, written ために.
- 〜に先駆けて — ahead of (everyone else) — A noun + に先駆けて says someone did something first, ahead of the others in the same field.
- 〜を機に — taking (an event) as the moment to change — A noun for an event + を機に says you made a fresh start because of it, using it as your chance.
- 〜たるもの / 〜たる — anyone who is a (role) must — A noun for a role + たるもの says what anyone in that role must do; たる + noun describes someone worthy of that role.