せっかく～

About

せっかく means "with great pains; with trouble; long-awaited; special", and can be used in a variety of situations. The most common せっかく patterns are:

「せっかく～のに」

E.g. せっかく新あたらしい弁当箱べんとうばこを買かったのに、すぐ壊こわれてしまった。 "Despite my going to the trouble of buying a new bento box, it broke immediately."

「せっかくなので～」

E.g. せっかくだから、ちょっと散歩さんぽしようか！ "(We're already here) so let's go for a bit of a walk!"

「せっかくの(noun)」

E.g. せっかくの機会きかいなので、やってみます。 "It's a rare opportunity, so I'll try it."

せっかく must attach to nouns using the の particle.

「せっかく(だが・だけど・etc.)」

E.g. せっかくですが、今回こんかいはやめておきます。 "(You've gone through the trouble of inviting me) but I'm going to decline this time."

Summary

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  せっかく means "with great pains; with trouble; long-awaited; special"

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  The most common せっかく patterns are: 「せっかく～のに」, 「せっかくなので～」, 「せっかくの(noun)」, and 「せっかく(だが・だけど・etc.)」