わざわざ

わざわざ + verb (phrase): わざわざ来る, わざわざ電話する. It is an adverb, so it comes before the action. Common combinations: わざわざ〜てくれる / 〜てくださる (thanks for someone's effort), わざわざ〜なくてもいい / 〜ことはない (no need to take the trouble), 〜のに、わざわざ〜 (surprise that someone chose the harder way), わざわざ〜たのに (the effort was wasted).

• 近くのコンビニで買えるのに、わざわざ遠くの店まで行ったの？

  ちかくのコンビニでかえるのに、わざわざとおくのみせまでいったの？

  You can buy it at the convenience store nearby. Did you really go all the way to that faraway shop?

• 母は私のために、わざわざ国からお菓子を送ってくれた。

  はははわたしのために、わざわざくにからおかしをおくってくれた。

  My mother went to the trouble of sending me sweets from my home country.

• メールで十分なので、わざわざ会社に来なくてもいいですよ。

  メールでじゅうぶんなので、わざわざかいしゃにこなくてもいいですよ。

  An email is enough, so you don't need to come all the way to the office.

• 田中さんは、わざわざ空港まで私を送ってくれた。

  たなかさんは、わざわざくうこうまでわたしをおくってくれた。

  Mr. Tanaka went out of his way to take me to the airport.

• そんなこと、わざわざ先生に聞かなくても分かるよ。

  そんなこと、わざわざせんせいにきかなくてもわかるよ。

  You can figure that out without bothering to ask the teacher.

• 雪の日にわざわざ出かけることはない。

  ゆきのひにわざわざでかけることはない。

  There's no need to go to the trouble of going out on a snowy day.

• 休みの日に、わざわざ隣の町の図書館まで行きました。

  やすみのひに、わざわざとなりのまちのとしょかんまでいきました。

  On my day off, I made a special trip to the library in the next town.

• Using わざわざ for something you did on the way or as an extra while doing something else. That is the opposite of わざわざ: ×会社へ行くついでに、わざわざ郵便局に寄った → ○会社へ行くついでに、郵便局に寄った.
• Confusing わざわざ with わざと. わざと means 'on purpose', often to cause trouble: 弟はわざと私のケーキを落とした (my brother dropped my cake on purpose). わざわざ is about taking extra trouble, and it is usually not about bad intentions.
• Using わざわざ about your own kindness to the listener, as in わざわざ持ってきてあげました. It sounds as if you want the listener to thank you. わざわざ is usually used for other people's efforts.

せっかく (after all the trouble / since it's a rare chance)

わざわざ describes the action: someone took extra trouble to do it. せっかく looks at the value of an effort or chance, and at whether it is used or wasted, so it usually needs のに or のだから after it: せっかく来たのに、店が閉まっていた (I came all this way, but the shop was closed). わざわざ can stand by itself before a verb: 兄がわざわざ荷物を届けてくれた (my brother took the trouble to bring my things to me). For good luck, like nice weather, only せっかく works: せっかくのいい天気.

わざと (on purpose)

わざと means doing something on purpose that you normally wouldn't do, sometimes to trick someone or cause trouble, sometimes to be kind: 子どもにゲームでわざと負けてあげた (I lost to my child in the game on purpose). わざわざ means taking extra trouble, often out of kindness: 遠いのに、わざわざ会いに来てくれた (even though it's far, they came all the way to see me).

わざわざ is tested in N3 vocabulary and grammar questions that ask you to choose the right adverb for a blank, next to words like わざと, せっかく, ついでに and なかなか. Look for clues: てくれる / ありがとう (thanks for the effort), なくてもいい / ことはない (no need for the effort). In reading and listening, わざわざ often shows the speaker's thanks, or surprise that someone chose the harder way.