Structure
［い］Adjective［い］+ かれ + ［い］Adjective［い］(Antonym) + かれ
遅かれ早かれ - sooner or later
多かれ少なかれ - more or less
to a greater or lesser extent
良かれ悪しかれ - good or bad
for better or worse
Details
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About かれ〜かれ
かれ～かれ is a grammar pattern that pairs with opposite い-Adjectives in Japanese to convey that 'whether (A) or (B), the result will be the same'. It is usually translated as 'or', or 'either (A) or (B)'. Originally, this structure was a contraction of the conjunctive stem of い-Adjectives, く, and the imperative form of the う-Verb ある 'to be', あれ. い-Adjectives do not have their own imperative form, so くあれ and then the abbreviation かれ evolved to fill this role. As it is imperative, the literal meaning is simply 'be it (A) or (B)', and is a declaration.
かれ～かれ will attach to the stem of 2 adjectives that are antonyms, before going on to explain how the result remains the same regardless.
かれ～かれ is used with a very limited set of adjectives, so it is best not to use it with words that you have not come across previously.
Caution
In the case of 良い 'good' and 悪い 'bad', 悪い will be read as 悪しかれ, which comes from the archaic 悪し 'bad'. This is considered as set phrase in modern Japanese.
- この発明は、良かれ悪しかれたくさんの人に影響を与えるだろう。This invention will affect a lot of people, for better or worse.
Examples
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「こんなにタバコを吸い続けては遅かれ早かれ病気になるだろう。」
'If you keep on smoking like this, sooner or later you will get sick.'
この発見はよかれあしかれ、大きな変化をもたらすだろう。
For better or worse, this discovery will bring great change.
好奇心は多かれすくなかれ誰もが持っているものだろう。
Curiosity is something that everybody has, to a greater or lesser extent.
遅かれはやかれ有人火星探査の時代はやってくるはずだ。
I am sure that sooner or later, the era of manned missions to Mars will come.
研究によるとあらゆる頭部外傷は多かれすくなかれ脳に影響を及ぼすということだ。
According to research, all kinds of head trauma affect the brain to a greater or lesser extent.
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