You use this when something bad happens. It comes after a long effort or a difficult process. It shows you feel sad or that your effort was wasted.
Verb [た-form] + あげくPrimary
Noun + の + あげく
You use this when something bad happens. It comes after a long effort or a difficult process. It shows you feel sad or that your effort was wasted.
長時間考えたあげく、結局そのプロジェクトを断ることにした。
After thinking for a long time, I ended up deciding to turn down that project.
彼女とは何時間も話し合ったあげく、何の解決にもならなかった。
After talking with her for hours, we didn't reach any resolution at all.
散々迷ったあげく、何も買わずに店を出た。
After agonizing over it for ages, I left the store without buying anything.
度重なる議論のあげく、その法案は否決されるに至りました。
After repeated discussions, it came to pass that the bill was rejected.
徹夜で勉強したあげくのテストが、この低い点数だった。
The test that I took after studying all night ended up with this low score.
This phrase is like saying, "After all that work, this is what happened?" It shows you tried hard. But the end result was bad. It makes the bad ending feel even worse. Adding 'に' does not change the meaning much.
This is different from "~sue ni" and "~kekka". "~sue ni" can be good or bad. It just means "after a long time." "~kekka" is neutral. It just means "the result." "~ageku" is always about a bad result. It means you tried hard but got a bad outcome. "~shimatsu da" is even worse. It means you ended up in a terrible situation because of your own mistakes.
Don't use this when something good happens. For example, don't say "After working hard, I finally got rich." This pattern is for bad results. The first part must be something that took a lot of time or effort. It is not for quick actions.
Often confused with(2)
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