74439
I'm very confused about these grammatical forms: all of them are translated as
"at the time, on the occasion of", and I can't understand the differences. I
found some answers and grammatical points on these forms
([this](https://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-
jlpt-n2-grammar-%E3%81%AB%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6-ni-saishite/)
and [this](https://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-
jlpt-n2-grammar-%E3%81%AB%E3%81%82%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%AB%E3%81%82%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A-ni-
atatteni-atari/)), and I tried to hit my grammars about them; as far as I
understood, the latter two forms are formal and [one can usually replace the
other](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/15961/whats-the-meaning-
of-%E3%81%AB%E3%81%82%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6-%E3%81%AB%E3%81%82%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A-how-
can-i-translate-it).

Moreover, in
[this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/37158/%EF%BD%9E%E9%9A%9B%E3%81%AB-
and-%EF%BD%9E%E3%81%AB%E9%9A%9B%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6-grammar) answer the answerer
said that «「A に際して B」 is more like "B taking A as an oppotunity"», but this
sounds odd with this example from the grammar site linked above:
「車を買うに際しては、保険に入らなければならない。」; I understand the sentence, but "You must buy an
insurance taking buying a car as opportunity" sounds **very** odd to me, since
you don't buy the insurance taking the car as opportunity, you buy the
insurance because you must have one if you have a car.

In all of this it doesn't seem that 「際に」 is just a less formal version of the
other two, but I don't relly understand how these three forms differ.
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2020-02-15T18:00:15.213
74421
2020-02-16T13:49:32.230
2020-02-16T09:22:40.900
35362
35362
question
grammar
際に, に際して, にあたって
They all have similar meaning - namely, "faced with X". IMO 際に and 際して has the
same nuance, except that 際して is more formal. All three expressions are neutral
and don't imply what needs or can be done is positive or negative.

There are differences between 際に, 際して vs. にあたって.  
- にあたって can be used for events that occur earlier than 際に, 際して  
- にあたって implies the action is done in anticipation

For example:

> (1) 帰国に際し写真を撮った  
>  (2) 帰国にあたって写真撮った

Suppose the photo was taken 6 months before flying back. (2) would be
perfectly fine, whereas (1) would be a stretch.

Another example:

> (1) 帰国に際し死亡した  
>  (2) 帰国にあたって死亡した

(1) is ok, while (2) is very odd because one wouldn't die in preparation of
returning to the home country.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-16T13:49:32.230
74439
2020-02-16T13:49:32.230
499
74421
answer