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I sometimes come across verbs ending with「てかかる」, for example 食ってかかる and 舐めてかかる. It sometimes show up in novels I'm reading, for example

若い私はその時暗に相手も私と同じような感じを持っていはしまいかと疑った。そうして腹の中で先生の返事を予期してかかった。(こころ-上-三話)

でも、丸が目撃証言だけで信じるなんて珍しいね。噂話には疑ってかかるほうなのに。

Does adding かかる after a て-form verb emphasize the verb's meaning? Also, I wonder how てかかる is related to 連用形+かける.

I already read this question and its related links but I can't find anything helpful.

Jimmy Yang
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1 Answers1

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かかる has quite a few meanings.

かかる in 食ってかかる is used in the sense of to attack.

The others are used in the following sense:

26 多く、動詞の連用形に接続助詞「て」を添えた形に付いて、初めからそのような状態で、またはそのように思い込んで、事に対する意を表す。「相手をのんで―・る」「だめだと決めて―・る」

I think a modern relevant word is とりかかる = to start working on.

As these suggest, the basic nuance is "prejudice, preconception" in the attitude of dealing with things: 舐めてかかる = face them with underestimation; 予期してかかる = expect a certain answer (beforehand/before getting an actual reply); 疑ってかかる = treat with doubt (from the start).

sundowner
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