〜にあたって／〜にあたり
JLPT N2にあたって
on the occasion of; when about to
接続 · How it attaches
名詞／動詞辞書形 ＋ にあたって
Nuance
Formal, and reserved for something the speaker treats as a significant undertaking — starting a business, taking up a post, opening a ceremony. It looks forward, at the preparation. Never used for an everyday event: 買い物にあたって is wrong.
Example sentences
新しい事業を始めるにあたって、皆様のご協力をお願いいたします。
In embarking on this new venture, we ask for your cooperation.
Not to be confused with
- 〜において／〜における — 〜において merely marks where, when or in what field. It carries none of the sense of an undertaking being embarked on.
- 〜に際して／〜に際し — 〜に際して points at the moment of the act itself; 〜にあたって at getting ready for it.
- 〜に先立って／〜に先立ち — 〜に先立って is explicitly *before* the event; 〜にあたって is at the time of it.