につけ — At Every Turn
Expresses that whenever a certain situation or stimulus occurs, some spontaneous thought or feeling naturally arises: 'every time / whenever'. It typically pairs with verbs of perception or emotion (見る, 聞く, 考える) and describes an automatic, recurring emotional reaction rather than a deliberate act.
Structure
[Verb dictionary form / Noun] + につけ(て)／につけても
Examples
この写真を見るにつけ、故郷を思い出す。
Kono shashin wo miru ni tsuke, kokyou wo omoidasu.
Every time I see this photo, I think of my hometown.
見るにつけ — seeing the photo automatically triggers the memory
その話を聞くにつけ、涙が出てくる。
Sono hanashi wo kiku ni tsuke, namida ga dete kuru.
Whenever I hear that story, tears well up.
聞くにつけ — hearing the story spontaneously brings tears
何かにつけて彼は文句を言う。
Nani ka ni tsukete kare wa monku wo iu.
He complains at every opportunity.
何かにつけて is a set phrase meaning 'on every occasion'
• Register: somewhat literary; common with emotional/perceptual verbs. • The result clause is usually a spontaneous feeling or thought, not a deliberate action. • Set phrases: 何かにつけて (at every turn), 何事につけ (in all matters), 良きにつけ悪しきにつけ (for better or worse).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones につけ is tested against.
vs たびに
たびに ('each time') is neutral and pairs with any action or result; につけ specifically triggers a spontaneous emotion or thought and is more literary.
vs につれて
につれて means 'as X progresses, Y gradually changes'; につけ means 'whenever X happens, Y feeling arises'.
More time expressions
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