甲斐がある details
write + (past) + worth the effort of
kaita kaigaaru
worth the effort of; the effort paid off
meaning: it is worth writing
三年間毎日練習したかいがある。
sannenkan mainichi renshuushita kaigaaru.
Every day for three years, it is worth practicing. neutral
並んだかいがあったね、このパン、めっちゃ美味しい！
naranda kai ga atta ne, kono pan, meccha oishii!
Standing in line was worth it, huh — this bread is seriously delicious! casual
- た-form
- noun
- negative
- past
- polite
Examples
worth the effort of; the effort paid off — a process or effort turns out to have been worthwhile
三年間毎日練習したかいがあった。
sannenkan mainichi renshuushitakaigaatta.
Every day for three years, it was worth practicing. neutral
並んだかいがあったね、このパン、めっちゃ美味しい！
naranda kai ga atta ne, kono pan, meccha oishii!
Standing in line was worth it, huh — this bread is seriously delicious! casual
長い間の努力のかいがあって、ついに商品化が実現した。
nagai aida no doryoku no kai ga atte, tsuini shouhinka ga jitsugen shita.
After all that long effort, it finally paid off and the product went into production. neutral
皆様のご協力のかいがあり、無事にイベントを終了することができました。
minasama no go kyouryoku no kai ga ari, buji ni ibento o shuuryou suru koto ga dekimashita.
Thanks to everyone's cooperation paying off, we were able to bring the event to a successful close. formal
Formation
{V-ta}かいがあるattaches to た-form{N}のかいがあるattaches to noun
Notes
生きがい, 働きがい ("worth doing/living/working for") — a
different, more frequent word than this V-ta+かいがある frame.
Related patterns
Similar
だけましだ evaluates a bad situation as relatively okay next to a worse alternative — resigned relief; かいがある evaluates an effort already made against the goal it was aimed at and finds it paid off — satisfied reward. Both hand down a retrospective verdict, from opposite emotional registers.
に越したことはない ranks a standing PREFERENCE in the abstract, true whether or not it has happened yet (お金は多いに越したことはない); かいがある evaluates one CONCRETE effort already made and states whether it bore fruit — one is advice, the other a verdict.
The same payoff seen from opposite ends — かいがある looks FORWARD from the effort to what it bought (練習したかいがあって優勝した), だけのことはある looks BACK from the result to whatever earned it, and that cause need not be an effort at all (元プロだけのことはある), where かいがある demands one.
Same meaning
the effort paid off; no wonder it shows
| Pattern | Attaches to |
|---|---|
| だけのことはある |