に当たって details
write + on the occasion of
kaku ni atatte
on the occasion of; in undertaking — a significant undertaking one is about to embark on, and the attitude or preparation it calls for
meaning: on the occasion of writing
新しい仕事を始めるにあたって、いろいろ準備をしました。
atarashii shigoto o hajimeru ni atatte, iroiro junbi o shimashita.
I made various preparations on the occasion of starting my new job. neutral
開会にあたりまして、一言ご挨拶申し上げます。
kaikai ni atarimashite, hitokoto go aisatsu moushiagemasu.
On the occasion of the opening, allow me to say a few words of greeting. formal
- dictionary form
- noun
- formal
- formal
Examples
on the occasion of; in undertaking — a significant undertaking one is about to embark on, and the attitude or preparation it calls for
新しい仕事を始めるにあたって、いろいろ準備をしました。
atarashii shigoto o hajimeruniatatte, iroiro junbi o shimashita.
I made various preparations on the occasion of starting my new job. neutral
開会にあたりまして、一言ご挨拶申し上げます。
kaikai ni atarimashite, hitokoto go aisatsu moushiagemasu.
On the occasion of the opening, allow me to say a few words of greeting. formal
入学にあたって、必要な書類をご確認ください。
nyuugaku ni atatte, hitsuyou na shorui o go kakunin kudasai.
Upon enrollment, please confirm the necessary documents. formal
Formation
{V}にあたってattaches to dictionary form{N}にあたってattaches to noun
Variant notes
- に当たり — て-drop for written and formal connecting clauses — 開催にあたり、下記のとおりご案内申し上げます; not used in conversation.
- に当たりまして — にあたって with the polite ます inserted — spoken ceremonial addresses and business correspondence reach for this over the bare て-drop.
Related patterns
Similar
にあたって wants a significant undertaking the subject is about to embark on and frames the attitude or preparation it calls for (新しい生活を始めるにあたって); 際に tolerates any sufficiently notable occasion, including routine business notices (ご来店の際に), with no requirement that it mark the start of something.
Both sit at the same stiff formality band; the split is the kind of occasion. にあたって wants an undertaking one is about to embark on and frames the attitude or preparation it calls for (開店にあたって, 留学するにあたって); に際して is the broader, more neutral "at the time of" framing, equally at home with unplanned or adverse events (災害に際して, 事故に際して) where にあたって would read oddly celebratory.
Lookalikes
にあたって and に先立って share the same formal register and the same "V dictionary form + に〜" shape, but にあたって marks simultaneity WITH the undertaking itself (the undertaking IS the occasion), while に先立って marks a separate act done BEFORE it in preparation — 開会にあたって挨拶する speaks at the opening, 開会に先立って挨拶する speaks before it.
にわたって and にあたって differ by a single mora and are easy to misparse at reading speed, but にわたって measures a SPAN — a period, distance, or scope something continues across (三年にわたって "over a span of three years") — while にあたって marks a single OCCASION or juncture something is done at (試合にあたって "on the occasion of the match") — にあたって never measures a literal span, and にわたって never marks a single point-in-time occasion.