〜かつて: 'Once / Formerly' (Meaning + Examples)
Pointing back to a past that's since changed
かつて marks a time or state further back than "the past" alone suggests — often decades, sometimes an era. It pairs naturally with だった/であった and frequently signals that the situation described no longer holds.
この本はかつてはベストセラーだったが、今は絶版になっている。
この ほんは かつては べすとせらーだったが、いまは ぜっぱんに なっている。
This book was once a bestseller, but now it's out of print.
かつて + だった, with 今は marking the contrast.
やったんとモチがかつて住んでいた街は、今ではすっかり変わってしまった。
やったんと もちが かつて すんでいた まちは、いまでは すっかり かわってしまった。
The town Yattan and Mochi once lived in has completely changed by now.
Original example: かつて marking a former home.
イングランドはかつて内乱で分裂したことがあった。
いんぐらんどは かつて ないらんで ぶんれつした ことが あった。
England was once split apart by civil war.
Form: かつて + noun / clause
かつて is an adverb, so it sits before the phrase it modifies — often directly before a noun with は, or before a clause ending in だった/した.
| Position | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Before a noun phrase | かつて(は) + N | かつての恋人 = a former lover |
| Before a past-tense clause | かつて + …だった/した | かつて栄えた都市 = a city that once prospered |
一般に日本人は、自分たちがかつてより暮らし向きがよくなったと考えている。
いっぱんに にほんじんは、じぶんたちが かつてより くらしむきが よくなったと かんがえている。
Japanese people generally think their standard of living has improved compared to how it once was.
かつて vs 昔
昔 (むかし) is the everyday, conversational word for "the past" and can even stand alone as a noun (昔は…, "back then…"). かつて is its formal, written cousin — you'll see it in news reports, essays, and history books, rarely in casual speech, and it leans harder into "this is no longer true."
The short version
- かつて = "once / formerly / in the past."
- Attaches to: sits before a noun (かつての N) or a past-tense clause.
- Nuance/register: formal, written; often implies the situation has since changed.
- Don't confuse with: 昔, the casual, everyday word for "the past."
Practice it
Choose the correct use of かつて to describe a past state or time.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
この本は＿＿＿はベストセラーだったが、今は絶版になっている。
Where 〜かつて fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- Past Tense · N5 — The plain past た-form means 'did.' It follows the same sound changes as the て-form (just て→た, で→だ): 食べた, 行った, 飲んだ. Learn it by verb group.
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
More N1 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜きらいがある — 〜きらいがある means 'tends to,' 'has a tendency to' — almost always describing an undesirable habit or pattern of behavior, in a formal, slightly critical register.
- 〜きっての — 〜きっての attaches after a place, group, or era to mean 'the foremost ... in/of [that group]' — always followed by a noun naming the superlative person or thing, like 業界きっての実力者.
- 〜極めて — 極めて (きわめて) is a formal adverb meaning 'extremely' or 'exceedingly' — placed before an adjective or verb to emphasize a very high degree, common in news, reports, and academic writing.
- 〜くらいなら — 〜くらいなら means 'rather than (do something bad), I'd prefer...' — it frames an option as so undesirable that almost any alternative, even a bad one, beats it. Often paired with ましだ or だったら.
- 〜にあって — 〜にあって is a formal, literary expression meaning 'in / at / under (a certain situation),' used to frame a difficult, unusual, or noteworthy circumstance before describing how someone acts within it.
- 〜にひきかえ — 〜にひきかえ means 'in (marked) contrast to,' pairing two people or things whose situations are strikingly opposite — often with a hint of comparison or mild judgment favoring one side.