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From Bocchi The Rock! ep8.

‎（星歌）次のライブでも頑張れよ。ちゃんとノルマ代は払ってな

(虹夏）‎最後のセリフさえなければ‎感動したのに

I interpreted　虹夏's line as "I would have been (emotinally) moved if only you hadn't said that last part" , but my question is more about さえ vs すら in general.

Is it possible to use すら instead of さえ in this sentence and still have it preserve the meaning of the sentence?

ですら・でも・さえ・だろう（と／が）。 Are there any differences?

I visited the this post among other resources on the internet and saw that there were some situations where さえ can be used but すら cant't. Are there more examples sentences of さえ and すら that are able to distictly show the differences?

SIREN
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2 Answers2

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Practically, when it is used with ば=if, only さえ is (safely) possible.

Only さえ list the following:

（仮定表現を伴い）その条件が満たされれば十分な結果が生じる意を表す。せめて…だけでも。「これ—あれば鬼に金棒だ」「覚悟ができて—いれば、心配はない」

As far as I can think of, 'すら・・・ば' is not commonly used though my impression is that 最後のセリフすらなければ does not change the meaning (after making me pause for a moment).

さえ (#2) and すら (#1) shares the meaning of 類推 (roughly even).

sundowner
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No, in cases like this, you cannot replace "さえ" with "すら."

In sentences like the following, "さえ" and "すら" are replaceable:

  • 彼女でさえ/すら、彼の隠しごとに気づけなかった。 Even she was unaware of his secret.
  • 喉が痛くて、水一滴さえ/すら飲めない。 My throat is so sore that I can't drink even a drop of water.

However, in cases like the following, they are not replaceable:

  • これさえあれば、災害時でも安心です。 With this, you will have peace of mind even in times of disaster.
  • 仕事さえなければ、コンサートに行けたのに……。 Without work, I could have gone to the concert.

In the case of the expression "〜さえ〜ば, ..." ("With/Without this, ..."), you cannot substitute "さえ" with "すら."

cano
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  • What makes すら different so that it cannot be used in the same "〜さえ〜ば, ..." pattern but can be interchanged like in the first two examples? – SIREN Jan 23 '24 at 17:58