# 始める, かける



## AmaryllisBunny

What is the difference between these two verbs? They both seem to mean "to begin or start < something >." Could you please give an example of the difference in meaning [if any] between these two verbs please?

Thank you!


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## karlalou

I feel ～しかける has an older feel or more ..how should I put it.. cultural? in a way sophisticated but colloquial feel, while ～し始める is more text style, though both are used by anybody, any age or gender or any social class.


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## 810senior

It may be a bit perplexing to explain this. In my view, しはじめる is the most commonest phrase written at any sentence in that sense, while しかける can be interpreted variously depending on the context.
e.g. 前方から急に動物が飛び出してきて、僕は急ブレーキを踏みかけた。（＝踏み始めた）。 (a)
ちっとも泳げないくせに、意地なんて張るから、溺れかけるんだよ。（＝溺れそうになる）。 (b)
昨日読みかけた（＝途中まで読んだ）本を、今日昼になってようやく読み終えた。 (c)


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## AmaryllisBunny

Thank you karlalou and 810senior.

810senior, could you please provide more of an explanation for your examples _a_, _b_, and _c_ (perhaps a bit more English  /"振り仮名" for the more complex "漢字")? Thank you again.

Also, both you write "し" preceding the verb. What purpose does it play and is it a particle in this case?

From what I am understanding, "more spoken" vs "more written," you are saying that one is [perhaps _slightly_] more formal or higher register than the other? Is "～しかける" in a way 'sophisticated,' but still a part of regular speech while "～し始める" is in general more commonplace?

Lastly, when you say "しかける" can be interpreted in a variety of ways, it just has a more general meaning and thus applies to more contexts right?

Thank you again!


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## karlalou

Without  ～し, they are not very easy to be considered as things to be compared.

If I may borrow 810's sentences, because they are good examples, I feel not only (b) but also (a) are suitable with しかける, and I wouldn't say both (a) or (b) with し始める. I would say (c) with either しかける or し始める.

I can't generalize them, but ～しかける is basically 'about to do something' and sometimes people say it to mean 'start to do something, while ～し始める is simply 'start to do something'.


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## AmaryllisBunny

So, for (b) I understand it as this: Even though I couldn't swim at all, my pride got the best of me, and I almost drowned.

(a) I understand as follows: Without warning, a "beast"/something leapt right in front [of my car], so I started slamming on the breaks.
I am wondering… does "急に" apply to the "beast's" leaping being "all of a sudden" OR does it apply to me slamming on the breaks?

When you write "～し"+plain form, this just means that you are using the first verb in the "conjunctive form" right?


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## Schokolade

AmaryllisBunny said:


> When you write "～し"+plain form, this just means that you are using the first verb in the "conjunctive form" right?


Right. By ～しかける they mean "the 連用形(ren'you-kei/conjunctive form/continuative form) of a verb + かける"


> is it a particle in this case?


No, the し is the conjunctive form of the verb する, "do".

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As you can see in this J-J dictionary かける【掛ける／懸ける】の意味 - 国語辞書 - goo辞書 (see definition #32) "the conjunctive form of a verb + かける" has several meanings/usages:


> 32 他の動詞の連用形のあとに付いて用いる。
> ㋐ …しはじめる、途中まで…する、今にも…しそうになるの意を表す。「言い―・けてやめる」「死に―・ける」
> ㋑ 他へ働きを仕向ける意を表す。「仲間に呼び―・ける」「押し―・ける」



㋐ "start to do~~" "do~~ halfway" "almost do~~/be on the point of doing~~," e.g. 「言いかけてやめる(start to say and stop)」「死にかける(almost die)」
(other examples:「読みかけの本(a half-read book)」「書きかけの手紙(an unfinished letter)」「溺れかける(almost drown)」「破産しかける(be on the edge of bankruptcy)」)
㋑ indicates that an action is directed toward someone, e.g. 「仲間に呼びかける(call out to friends)」「押しかける(burst in)」
(other examples:「(人に)話しかける/語りかける(address/talk to someone)」「(人に)ほほえみかける/笑いかける(smile at someone)」)

So かける and 始める are not always interchangeable, as you may already have noticed; for example, 泣き始める is "start crying," (泣き出す is "start crying" or "burst into tears" btw) but 泣きかける is "almost cry" or "be about to cry;" 問いかける is "ask a question," not "start asking."


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## karlalou

AmaryllisBunny said:


> So, for (b) I understand it as this: Even though I couldn't swim at all, my pride got the best of me, and I almost drowned.


You are right. I thought the subject is 'you' or someone 'he' or 'she', but 'I' also works no problem.



> (a) I understand as follows: Without warning, a "beast"/something leapt right in front [of my car], so I started slamming on the breaks.
> I am wondering… does "急に" apply to the "beast's" leaping being "all of a sudden" OR does it apply to me slamming on the breaks?


The "急に" applies to the beast's sudden appearance. ..mm.. actually, it's a little funny, I think in that situation he must have really had no choice but slam on the breaks. No hesitation or changing his mind. I guess it's either 急ブレーキをかけた or 急ブレーキを踏んだ. or 踏み込んだ.

踏みかけた.. mm.. 踏みかけてやめた..? He would have killed the animal.. XD



> When you write "～し"+plain form, this just means that you are using the first verb in the "conjunctive form" right?


Yes. In this way, they are ready to be compared with each other.


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## frequency

Notice 溺れた vs 溺れかけた,
you actually drowned. vs you didn't. You almost/nearly drown, as you said.
We say 事故になりかけた, and this is the same; it didn't result in an accident.

微笑みかける・笑いかける
They include the nuance of a moment you start to smile at someone, as Schokolade said.
So it can mean ア（今にもする・しそうになる）, too.


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## 810senior

AmaryllisBunny said:


> So, for (b) I understand it as this: Even though I couldn't swim at all, my pride got the best of me, and I almost drowned.
> 
> (a) I understand as follows: Without warning, a "beast"/something leapt right in front [of my car], so I started slamming on the breaks.
> I am wondering… does "急に" apply to the "beast's" leaping being "all of a sudden" OR does it apply to me slamming on the breaks?



(B) You're right. As Karlalou explained, the subject should be 2nd or 3rd person not 1st one. It's kind of telling to someone what's on a speaker's mind.

(A) Well there's no mistranslation in your attempt as far as I see.
Plus I'm afraid there's a mistake in choosing vocabulary. I agree it's better if the verb changed into another one like 踏み込んだ or simply かけた. On syntactically analyzing, the adverb modifies the following verb(飛び出してきた).[/QUOTE]


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