せめて

About

せめて is an adverb that is used to express "at least...", and is mainly used to: express the bottom limit of one's own hopes/desires; ask someone else to "at least do X".

せめて statements should contain the speaker's emotion (often desire for a certain outcome) in some way.

せめて should go at the start of the sentence or phrase that it modifies.

E.g. 次つぎのテストは、せめて50点てんは取とれるように頑張がんばろう。 "I'm going to do my best to get at least 50 points on the next test."

E.g. せめてお名前なまえだけでも教おしえていただけませんか？ "Won't you at the very least tell me your name?"

E.g. せめて、資料しりょうだけでも目めを通とおしていただけませんでしょうか。 "Would you please at least take a look at the document?"

せめて is most commonly used in conversational contexts, and may be used in both casual and polite scenarios.

Summary

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  せめて is an adverb that is used to express "at least..."

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  せめて is mainly used to: express the bottom limit of one's own hopes/desires; ask someone else to "at least do X"