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Consider these:

>   * 遅かれ早かれ
>
>   * 良【よ】かれ悪【あ】しかれ
>
>

What is the underlying grammatical make up of this `~かれ~かれ` pattern (if any)?
Is this pattern productive(i.e. can be extended to arbitrary words)?
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2012-01-28T04:56:25.223
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grammar
The grammar of ~かれ~かれ
The 〜かれ appearing here is the imperative form. I suspect this exact
construction is no longer productive in modern Japanese as adjectives are no
longer thought of as having imperative forms; however, the dictionary offers
this modern rephrasing of 善【よ】かれ悪【あ】しかれ:

> よいにしろ、悪いにしろ

So in some sense the abstract construction of "imperative + imperative" to
mean "be it ... or ..." still survives. (The "be" appearing in the English
version might also be construed as an imperative, but it's probably a
subjunctive.) The
[thesaurus](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/17207/m0u/) (for want of a
better word) lists some alternatives:

  * ～にしろ…にしろ
  * 〜にせよ…にせよ
  * 〜にしても…にしても
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2012-01-28T11:25:30.187
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2012-01-29T00:03:25.897
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answer
For perspective: There are also the expressions

> ～ろうと～ろうと
>
> ～ろうが～ろうが

e.g.

> よかろうと悪かろうと be it good or bad
>
> 早かろうが遅かろうが be it early or late

I think these expressions are more productive than ～かれ～かれ, although they do
have an archaic feel to them.

Also, it might be interesting to know that よかれ is commonly used in the sense
"good intentions" or something like that:

> よかれと(思って)したことが裏目に出た I did it with good intentions but it backfired on me

～かろう, although slightly archaic, is still sometimes used instead of ～いだろう

> それはおかしかろう！ (You have to admit) that's strange!
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answer