いかんせん

Japanese

Alternative spelling
如何せん

Alternative forms

• (literary) いかんせむ (ikansemu)

Etymology

Contraction of いかんせむ; in turn from 如何 (ikan, “however”) +‎ せ (se, the 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis form”) of verb す (su, “to do”)) +‎ む (mu, volitional suffix). See む (mu, volitional suffix) for more detail.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ikã̠ɰ̃sẽ̞ɴ]

Adverb

いかんせん • (ikansen) 

1. unfortunately; regrettably; alas
   • 1906, 夏目漱石 (Natsume Sōseki), 吾輩は猫である (I Am a Cat)‎^[2], 青空文庫 (Aozora Bunko):

     いかんせん誘(さそ)われてもそんな心(こころ)が出(で)ないから仕方(しかた)がない。

     Ikansen sasowarete mo sonna kokoro ga denai kara shikata ga nai.

     Alas, even when invited, the will just doesn't come to me.