につけ and につき

につけ and につき

につけ

Every time/Both

につけ comes from につけて, loosely meaning “attached to”.
It is used to describe:

  • Doing every time (More limited than たびに)
  • True for both things

Every time

Sensory Verb/Emotion/Thought + につけ

When used to mean every time, につけ is used with a limited number of sensory verbs, and expresses a natural occurrence.
The natural occurrence tends to be related to emotions. (Source)
This means that につけ is used for statements like “Feel/see/hear X, Y happens”

In this meaning, につけ may appear as につけて.

  • 何かにつけて文句を言う – Complaining every chance they get
  • 彼を見るにつけ、喧嘩になる – Every time he sees him they get into a fight.
  • その話を聞くにつけ怒る – Every time they hear that story they get mad. 
  • 昔の僕を思い出すにつけ、恥ずかしい気持ちになる – Every time I remember my old self, I am embarassed.
  • 研究を思うにつけ眠くなってしょうがない – Every time I think of research I can’ t help but get sleepy. 

Both

Noun/Adjective/Plain form verb + につけ + Different word + につけ

In the “both” meaning, につけ functions nearly identically to でも
This pattern is typically used with opposites.

  • 辛いときにつけ嬉しいときにつけ彼女を支え続ける – Hard times or happy times, I continue to support her. 
  • 眠たいにつけ疲れているにつけウエブサイトを頑張る – Sleepy or tired, I try hard on my website. 
  • いいことにつけ悪いことにつけ彼は無表情だった – Good or bad, he was expressionless. 
  • 失敗するにつけ成功するにつけ打ち上げ会をする – Fail or succeed, we will have a party. 

 

につき

につき is included here because it is phonetically extremely similar to につけ.
につき can mean:

  • Reason
  • Per

Reason

Reason + につき

The most common use of につき is on signage and possibly letters, to indicate a reason.
This is a more formal way to express から or ので

  • 工事につき通行禁止 – No traffic allowed due to construction
  • コロナ感染拡大につき、5月31日まで休業いたします – Due to the increase in Corona, we are temporarily closed until 5/31
  • 台風の影響につき、

Per

Unit + につき + unit

につき can also be used as “Per”.
Technically this is a proportion between two numbers.

  • 一時間につき100円 – 100 yen per hour. 
  • カラー1枚につき20円 – 20 yen per 1 color page. 
  • 入園料は一人につき1000円でございます – The entrance fee is 1000 yen per person.