Meaning & usage
にして marks the time, age, or status at which something happens, often with a sense of surprise at how early, fast, or unusual it is. It follows nouns of time or age like 一夜にして or 四十歳にして, and nouns of status like 高校生にして, plus the fixed phrase 若くして. It is a formal written style and emphasizes that the result occurred within that short span or while still in that state.
Example sentences 6
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彼は若くして会社を起こした。
He started a company at a young age.
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彼女は一夜にして有名になった。
She became famous overnight.
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一瞬にして電気が消えた。
The lights went out in an instant.
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父は四十歳にして初めて留学した。
My father studied abroad for the first time at age forty.
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妹は高校生にして作家となった。
My little sister became a writer while still in high school.
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その噂は一日にして広まった。
That rumor spread in a single day.
