Akiha even

すら and さえ are synonyms.

黒人たちは白人のトイレに入ることすら許されなかった
Blacks could not even go into "white" lavatories.

私の祖母はもうろくしてしまい、私のことすら分からない
My grandmother is so senile she doesn't even know me.

私は極度の高所恐怖症なので、遊園地で観覧車に乗ることすらできない
I have extreme acrophobia, so riding the Ferris wheel at the amusement park is out of the question.

彼は英語を読むことすらできない, まして書くなどできるものではない
He can't even read English, much less write it.

これは初めての人（＝初心者・初学者）でさえ解ける簡単な問題です
This is an easy question even a beginner can answer.

彼は日曜でさえ働かねばならなかった
He had to work even on Sunday.

彼女は自分の名前を書くことさえできない
She can't even [so much as] write her own name.（☆前の方が普通）

風が激しい上に雨さえ降ってきた
It was windy, and besides [what is more, 話 on top of that, 書

恐怖のあまり悲鳴を上げることすらできなかった
I was so scared I could not even let out a scream.

彼は読み書きすらできない　
He can not so much as read and write.

神ですら泣く
Even the gods cry

エチケットの基本すらわきまえていないおとなが多すぎる
Too many grown-ups don't know even the basics of good manners.

友情すらも犠牲にして、ライルは仕事を得るためにロンにうそをついた
At the price of their friendship, Lyle lied to Ron to get the job.

標的がすばやく動いていたので、彼ですら命中させることができなかった
Even he couldn't hit the target since it was of foot so rapidly.

悲劇的なメロディーですらやはり美しいものだ。
Even a tragic melody is still beautiful.

彼女は僕が来ていることすら目に入ってなかったって認めましたよ。友達と大事な話をしてたんだ、って言ってましたけどね。
She admitted that she didn't even see me coming. She said that she was having an important conversation with her friend.

彼女は小さな赤ん坊を抱いたことすらありません。ましてオムツを替えたことなんて
She's never even held a tiny baby let alone changed a nappy.

彼女はそこにいる彼にあえて話し掛けようとはしなかった。見ることすらほとんどなかったのだ
She dared not speak to him there. She dared hardly look.

彼は酔っていたので、自分の家を見つけることすらできなかった
In his drunken state, he couldn't even find his own house.

彼は自分の名前を書くことすらできない
He cannot so much as write his own name.

彼は私にさよならを言うことすらしなかった
He did not so much as say goodbye to me.

彼は一人で電車に乗ることすらできない
He cannot so much as take the train by himself.

彼は、仕事を探しに行こうとすらしなかった。
He didn't even go out and look for a job.

太り過ぎて小指すら挙げられない
too bloated to lift even a little finger

戦争前ですら
even before the war

数千人もの市民が何らの罪なく、あるいは尋問すらないままに仮設の刑務所に拘束されている
Hundreds of civilians are being held in makeshift jails without being charged or even questioned.

人の迷惑すら顧みないで
even to the prejudice of others

時々教科書ですら……
Sometimes even the textbooks ...

私は自分の仕事がどのようにして＿年も続いたのか想像すらできない。
I can't imagine how my career has lasted __ years.

警官に尋問された時、その容疑者は黙りこくって名前すら言わなかった
When questioned by the police, the suspect clammed up and wouldn't even say his name.

関心を持っていることすらできない〔〜に〕
be unable even to feign interest in

科学的データはおろか、出生地などの情報すら公表されていないためです。
No scientific data or even information regarding the birthplace has been made public.

その計画は、筋が通ってすらいないようだ。
The plan doesn't even look reasonable.

すら discussion

akiha、前の「すら」について説明してありがとう。僕には「すら」が分かりにくいことですから、説明もしにくかったはずですね。今はちょって分かりますと思いますけど本当に分かりますか知りません。

akiha, thank you for explaining about "すら" earlier. "すら" is hard for me to understand, so I expect that explaining it must also have been hard. Right now I think I understand a little, but whether I really understand, I don't know.

The following sentences are the result of my current understanding of how "すら" is used. I have tried to focus on the phrase "にすら近い". I feel now that this is a figure of speech that cannot always be translated directly to English without having it sound strange. (前の文を日本語に訳すことは出来なかった…) (I was not capable of translating the preceding sentences into Japanese...)

次の文は自分が書いたから間違いがあるはずです。The following sentences were self-written, therefore there are most likely mistakes.

• 「彼は友達にすらまだ知らせてない。」「友達をすら疑っているね。」
  "He still hasn't told even his friends." "So he distrusts even his friends..."
• 彼は虎にすらおびえない。勇敢な男。きゃああ…素敵わ！ （ごめんね…我慢できなかった。漫画読みすぎる）
  He isn't afraid, even of a tiger. He's a brave man. Kyaaa... he's like, so wonderful! (Sorry... I couldn't help myself. I read too much manga.)
• 彼は赤ちゃんをすらおびえさせられない。全然恐くないね。
  He can't scare even a baby. He's not the least bit scary.

「にすら近い」について。 Concerning "にすら近い"

(緑は変な色と思いましょう) (Let's pretend that green is a strange color.)

• 彼女は緑色にすら近い色の服がある。
  She has clothes in colors that are close even to green.
  She has clothes even in greenish colors. (same meaning, but sounds more natural)

  (色んな色の服がある。緑色に近い色も)

  (She has clothes in many colors. Even colors close to green.)

• この店には白にすら近い色の服がない。緑色だけ。
  In this store, there aren't any clothes in colors close to even white. Only green. (英語ではちょっと変な気がしている) (In English, it gives a little bit of a strange feeling.)

  (衣料品店は色んな色の服が売られているべきのに、この店には売られていた服の色は緑色しかない。他の色に近い色がない。白に近い色もない)

  (Even though a clothing store should sell many colors of clothes, the clothes this store sells are green only. There is nothing close to any other colors. Not even anything close to white.)

• この公園にはテレビにすら近いところがない。たぶん電話に近いところもない。
  In this park, there isn't anywhere with even a TV nearby. There probably isn't anywhere with a telephone nearby either. (これも、英語ではちょっと変) (This, too, is a little strange in English.)

グーグルで見つけた。 Found via google.

• 自分だけの力で生きてきているような勘違いをしがちですが、今自分が此処にいるのは、ホントに、ホントに、多くの多くの人の気持ちに依っていることにふと気がつく時、恐怖にすら近い感情に襲われます。 (link)
  One may prefer the fallacy of thinking that it is by your own power only that you have come into existence, but upon suddenly realizing that your existence right now is actually, actually, because of the feelings of many, many people, one is attacked with a feeling close to even terror.
• クルマとは、かくも奥深く魅力的な機械である。機械を超え、生き物にすら近い。多くの人がそれを被写体に選ぶのは、当然かもしれない。 (link)
  Cars are somehow (correct translation of "かくも"?) deeply fascinating machines. Beyond machinery, almost like a living being, even. That many people have chosen them as a subject for photography is only natural, I think.
• という理屈である。しかし、これは単なる統計的推論でしかなく、今となっては迷信にすら近い。 (link)
  That's the theory. However, this is merely statistical deduction only; currently it is close to even superstition. ("Currently, I would consider it to be almost superstition, even")
• 優れたプロダクトデザインは、アートにすら近いような気がします。 (link)
  Excellent product design has a feeling close to even art.
• 動きは最新作にすら近い滑らかさ。 (link)
  Its smoothness of movement is close to that of even the newest games.

--The naming game 09:07, 27 April 2007 (PDT)