〜を兼ねて: 'Serving a Dual Purpose / Combining' (Meaning + Examples)
One action, two purposes at once
〜を兼ねて attaches to a noun and marks a purpose that is fulfilled alongside the main action. It's common when a single act conveniently does two jobs.
やったんは運動を兼ねて、駅まで歩いて通勤している。
やったんは うんどうを かねて、えきまで あるいて つうきんしている。
Yattan walks to the station for his commute, which also serves as exercise.
運動を兼ねて = the commute doubles as exercise.
今日の食事は、あいさつを兼ねています。
きょうの しょくじは、あいさつを かねています。
Today's meal also serves as a greeting.
Here the verb form 兼ねる is used directly.
Form: noun + を兼ねて / を兼ねる
| Use | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverbial (before a main verb) | Noun + を兼ねて + verb | 趣味を兼ねて写真を撮る |
| Predicate (ends the clause) | Noun + を兼ねる | この旅行は視察を兼ねる |
| Two nouns combined | AとBを兼ねる | 趣味と実益を兼ねる |
The set phrase 趣味と実益を兼ねる ("combine pleasure and profit") is worth memorizing.
モチは趣味と実益を兼ねて、手作りのお菓子を売っている。
モチは しゅみと じつえきを かねて、てづくりの おかしを うっている。
Mochi sells handmade sweets, combining her hobby with a bit of profit.
Nuance: both purposes are genuine
Unlike ために ("in order to"), を兼ねて doesn't rank one purpose above the other as a mere goal — both happen for real in the same act. Often the noun is the lighter, "while I'm at it" purpose, and the main verb is the concrete action.
The short version
- 〜を兼ねて = "serving a dual purpose / doubling as / and also."
- Attaches to a noun; the noun is the extra purpose, the verb is the main action.
- Predicate form is 〜を兼ねる; combine two nouns with AとBを兼ねる.
- Both purposes are real at once — not just "in order to."
Practice it
Choose the correct use of 〜を兼ねて / を兼ねる (one act serving two purposes).
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
観光＿＿＿、出張で京都に行った。
Where 〜を兼ねて fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜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:
- 〜を契機に — 〜を契機に means 'triggered by' or 'taking X as the turning point' — a formal way to say an event caused a significant change. It attaches to a noun and is common in news about policy, society, and life changes.
- 〜をきっかけに — 〜をきっかけに means 'triggered by' or 'as a result of' — a friendly, everyday way to name the event that started a change. It attaches to a noun and works equally well in casual talk and writing.
- 〜をこめて — 〜をこめて means 'putting X into it' — doing something while filling it with an emotion like love, gratitude, or hope. It attaches to a noun naming the feeling and is common with gifts, letters, and prayers.
- 〜をめぐって — 〜をめぐって marks the topic a dispute, debate, or negotiation revolves around — 'concerning/over X' — typically followed by verbs like 争う, 対立する, or 議論する; the noun-modifying form is 〜をめぐる + Noun.
- 〜をもとに — 〜をもとに means 'based on / using X as a foundation,' marking data, experience, or material that gets reworked into something new; softer than に基づいて, which implies strict, faithful adherence to a source.
- 〜を除いて — 〜を除いて means 'except for / excluding X,' carving one item out of a group before describing the rest; often strengthened to 〜を除いては when contrasting the exception more sharply against everything else.