にかまけて means to be too busy; to focus / concentrate only on ~. It is a JLPT N1 Japanese grammar pattern used to indicate that someone becomes so preoccupied with one thing that they neglect other responsibilities or duties.
This grammar point often appears in formal writing, editorials, and N1 reading comprehension sections. If you want to express that someone is so absorbed in one activity that they ignore everything else — often with a critical or regretful tone — にかまけて is the precise pattern to learn.
What does にかまけて mean?
Use にかまけて when you want to say that a person is so busy concentrating on one activity or matter that they fail to attend to other important things. It carries an implication of neglect or irresponsibility.
Natural translations include:
- to be too busy with; to be engrossed in; to concentrate only on; to let oneself be absorbed in (to the detriment of other things)
The meaning depends heavily on context. The core idea is single-minded focus that causes neglect.
How to form にかまけて
Attach にかまけて directly to a noun. The noun represents the task or distraction that consumes the person’s attention.
Examples of the pattern:
- 仕事にかまけて
- 遊びにかまけて
- 勉強にかまけて
The pattern never attaches to verbs, adjectives, or entire clauses. In JLPT questions, wrong answer choices often try to combine にかまけて with a te-form or a verb stem — those are always incorrect.
When is にかまけて used?
Use にかまけて in situations like:
- criticizing someone for ignoring responsibilities
- reflecting on one’s own misplaced priorities
- describing a situation where a person’s entire focus is on one thing and everything else falls apart
Tone and register:
- predominantly written; formal to semi-formal. It appears often in essays, newspaper opinions, and JLPT N1 reading passages. In spoken Japanese, you would more likely hear ～に夢中で or ～に忙しくて, but にかまけて adds a more literary, evaluative weight.
にかまけて example sentences
After reading each sentence, ask what にかまけて signals: focus on one thing causing failure elsewhere. That concept will stick better than a one-word English translation.
Nuance of にかまけて
The key nuance is single-minded preoccupation that makes you overlook or ignore something important. This is not neutral busyness — there is always a negative outcome implied.
When someone says 仕事にかまけて, they are not saying “I’m busy with work” in a neutral sense; they are signalling that because of work, something else (health, family, friendships) has suffered. Similarly, a sentence with 遊びにかまけて implies “he is so obsessed with fun that he’s being irresponsible.”
にかまけて vs に専念して
Both patterns involve focusing on one thing, but they differ drastically in tone and outcome.
If you replace にかまけて with に専念して in the first sentence, you lose the critical tone and the implication that health was sacrificed. That difference is exactly what N1 reading questions test.
Common mistakes with にかまけて
Is にかまけて on the JLPT?
Yes. にかまけて is standard JLPT N1 grammar. It appears most often in reading comprehension passages about work-life balance, education, or social commentary.
Test questions rarely ask you to produce にかまけて in isolation. Instead, they check if you can recognize that the pattern signals neglect, not mere busyness, and that the particle is always に (not を or で).
Practice questions for にかまけて
Learning path for にかまけて
To master にかまけて, understand its formation and negative nuance first, then sharpen your instinct through contrast.
Related grammar to review next
- に — the fundamental particle, essential for understanding where にかまけて fits among N1 に patterns
- に値する — a pattern for “worth doing” — compare its noun＋に structure with にかまけて
- にあって — “in the situation of” — another N1 に pattern that attaches to nouns
- にひきかえ — “in contrast to” — also uses noun＋に, creating a comparison that can parallel the contrast in にかまけて sentences
Learn にかまけて with Hane
If you want to reinforce にかまけて and the related N1 patterns above, Hane helps you practice Japanese in short, focused sessions. You’ll encounter this grammar in realistic sentences, with immediate feedback.
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FAQ about にかまけて
What does にかまけて mean in Japanese?
にかまけて means “to be too busy; to focus / concentrate only on ~” in Japanese. It is an N1 grammar point, and this lesson explains its formation, nuance, example sentences, common mistakes, and similar grammar.
Is にかまけて on the JLPT?
にかまけて is taught as N1 Japanese grammar in Hane's grammar lesson archive. Review it with examples, usage notes, and related N1 patterns.
How should I practice にかまけて?
Read several example sentences, identify the form before and after にかまけて, then make your own short sentences and compare it with nearby grammar points.