わざわざ (wazawaza)
わざわざ — “go to the trouble of ～ / specially”
Pattern
-
わざわざ＋動詞（てくれる／に来る／に行く など）specially do ～ / go out of the way to ～ -
わざわざ＋動詞＋のに／てもeven though one took the trouble (often regretful)
Extra effort
わざわざ stresses that the person went beyond what was needed. わざわざ来てくれてありがとう: thank you for coming all this way. It is frequently combined with ～てくれる to show gratitude.
Worth the effort
It can also say something is worth the trouble: わざわざ買いに行く価値がある. And it can express regret when the effort was wasted: わざわざ行ったのに閉まっていた.
Do not confuse with わざと
わざと means “deliberately, for a hidden reason”. わざわざ means “taking special trouble”. わざわざ is about effort and consideration, not about intent to tease or hurt.
Examples
-
わざわざ来（き）てくれてありがとう。
Wazawaza kite kurete arigatou.
Thank you for going out of your way to come.
-
忙（いそが）しいのに、わざわざ手伝（てつだ）いに来（き）てくれた。
Isogashii noni, wazawaza tetsudai ni kite kureta.
Even though they were busy, they went out of their way to come and help.
-
この店（みせ）のケーキは、わざわざ買（か）いに行（い）く価値（かち）がある。
Kono mise no keeki wa, wazawaza kai ni iku kachi ga aru.
This shop’s cake is worth going out of your way to buy.
Common mistakes
- Do not use it for something you do every day as a routine; it needs extra effort beyond the usual.
- わざわざ and わざと are different words. Check which one you mean.
More grammar points
- ばよかった ～ばよかった — I should have ～, if only I had ～
- ばかりで ～ばかりで — only ～ (and nothing else, with a negative feeling)
- ばかりでなく ～ばかりでなく — not only ～ but also ～
- だけでなく ～だけでなく — not only ～ but also ～
- だけど だけど — but, however (casual)
- ふりをする ～ふりをする — pretending to ～
- 一方（いっぽう）だ ～一方だ — keeps ～ing in one direction
- 一体（いったい） 一体 — what on earth ～ (emphasizing a question)
- じゃない ～じゃない — isn't it ～! (surprise or confirmation)
- か何（なに）か ～か何か — ～ or something
- 代（か）わりに ～代わりに — instead of ～, in return for ～
- 結局（けっきょく） 結局 — in the end, after all
- きり ～きり — only ～; ever since ～
- っけ ～っけ — was it ～? (recalling)
- ことになっている ～ことになっている — it is the rule or plan that ～
- ことは～が ～ことは～が — it is true that ～, but ～
- くせに ～くせに — even though ～ (with reproach)
- も～ば～も A も ～ば B も ～ — both A and B
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