甲斐がある・
Use 甲斐がある or 甲斐がない to look back on an effort, wait, sacrifice, or other completed action and judge whether its result made it worthwhile.
How it works
This pattern compares an earlier investment with its outcome. The effort and the payoff should both be clear from the sentence or immediate context. Because the speaker is looking back on what was done, a verb before 甲斐 normally appears in the past form. The ending itself can also change with time: 甲斐があった and 甲斐がなかった are common when judging a finished situation.
When the effort paid off
甲斐があって is especially useful when the next clause states the successful result.
When the effort did not pay off
何度も時間をかけて説明したが、相手は納得せず、話した甲斐がなかった。
After repeated, time-consuming explanations, the other person remained unconvinced, so all that talking was for nothing.
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早起きして並んだ甲斐があり、限定品を買えた。
Getting up early and waiting in line paid off: the limited-edition item was still available.
Analyze私はあなたに相談した甲斐があった。問題の原因が分かった。
It was worth consulting you. I found the cause of the problem.
Analyze大会が中止になり、半年間の準備の甲斐がなかった。
The tournament was canceled, so six months of preparation came to nothing.
Analyze彼は留学した甲斐があって、仕事で使えるほど英語が上達した。
His time studying abroad paid off, and his English improved enough to use at work.
Analyze丁寧に調べた甲斐があり、報告書の誤りを提出前に見つけられた。
The careful checking paid off: an error in the report was found before submission.
Analyze遠くまで来た甲斐があった。山頂からの景色は息をのむほど美しかった。
It was worth coming all this way. The view from the summit was breathtaking.
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