Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 3: 13/19

べくFor the purpose of, In order to, To ensure

Structure

Verb［る］+ べく

Exceptions:
す(1) + べく

(1) する

Details

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    Formal

  • Rare Kanji

    可く

About べく

As the conjunctive form of the classical auxiliary verb べし, べく will be attached to the dictionary form of verbs in order to convey the purpose of an action. This will be translated as 'for the purpose of (A), (B)', 'in order to (A), (B)', or 'to ensure that (A), (B)'.

べく itself will only attach to verbs that can be done intentionally, with some purpose in mind. The (B) part of べく sentences will also indicate an intentional action that will be performed in order to reach the goal of (A).

When combining する with べく, due to べく being a classical auxiliary verb, it will attach to the classical stem of する, す. However, in modern Japanese it is fairly common to see both すべく and するべく, with both forms being considered correct.

べく itself is a very formal structure in modern Japanese, so will rarely be used in standard speech.

Fun Fact

Although べし and all of its conjugations have slightly different translations based on the grammar points that they appear in, the underlying meaning can be stemmed from the originating kanji 可(べ)し, meaning 'to be permissible'. The focus with this kanji and all forms of べし are just that the word it is attached to is being marked as a strong goal. This means that rather than 'in order to (A)', べく is closer to 'to attain (A)', in that it adds further emphasis.

Examples

--:--

    彼(かれ)は研修医(けんしゅうい)となるべく、5年(ねん)以上(いじょう)医科大学(いかだいがく)で修練(しゅうれん)しました。

    In order to become a medical intern, he studied at a medical college for five years.

    コーポレートサイト：「クライアントのニーズに応(こた)える可(べ)く、我(わ)が社(しゃ)は世界(せかい)で初(はじ)めて、AIカスタマーサポートを生(う)み出(だ)しました。」

    Corporate site: 'In order to meet our customers' needs, our company has developed the world's first AI customer support.'

    大学(だいがく)ウェブサイト：「IZU科学技術大学(かがくぎじゅつだいがく)では、予定通(よていどお)り秋期(しゅうき)講座(こうざ)を開講(かいこう)す可(べ)く、鋭意(えいい)準備(じゅんび)を進(すす)めてまいりました。」

    University website: 'We, at the IZU university of science and technology, have been making preparations in order to launch lectures for the Fall Term as planned.'

    社長(しゃちょう)の演説(えんぜつ)：「当社(とうしゃ)はCO2排出量(はいしゅつりょう)の低減(ていげん)義務(ぎむ)を果(は)たす可(べ)く、工場(こうじょう)にCO2専用(せんよう)フィルタの取(と)り付(つ)けを決定(けってい)いたしました。」

    Company president speech: 'Our company has decided to install specialized CO2 filters in our factories to ensure that we meet CO2 emission reduction obligations.'

    伝記(でんき)：「ホテル業界(ぎょうかい)での有力者(ゆうりょくしゃ)としての地位(ちい)を固(かた)める可(べ)く、海外(かいがい)でもホテルを購入(こうにゅう)しようとしたが、拒否(きょひ)されてしまった。」

    Biography: 'In order to cement his influential position in the hotel world, he also attempted to buy hotels abroad, but he was refused.'

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