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I heard that it means something like "to get stuck with something."

Can you explain what this means and give some examples?

language hacker
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    Let me alc that for you: http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E7%BE%BD%E7%9B%AE%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B – dainichi Feb 20 '12 at 01:14

1 Answers1

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Looks like it means to wind up in an undesirable situation. Some of the definitions for the kanji 羽目{はめ} are difficult/awkward situation; bind; mess. The になる is the common suffix になる.

In all of the examples I've seen it attaches to the plain form of verbs (not necessarily the dictionary form, but a form of the verb that ends in an u).

Here's a couple from Ejiro:

結局何もかもやるはめになる
end up doing everything

(as opposed to one's coworkers, teammates, etc.)

If those roads had been finished then, Pakistan would have been a little more developed by now, but Bhutto, the Prime Minister who took up office after that, cancelled the construction because if the roads had been completed, the credit would only have gone to Sharif.(それかできていれは、今頃パキスタンはもう少し発展していたと思うのですか、次に首相に就任したフットさんか、道路が完成したらシャリフ氏の手柄になってしまうということで、建設を中止してしまったのです。)
Owing to Bhutto, not only were the roads not finished, but the people were put in the nasty situation of having to shoulder an enormous debt.(おかけで、道路が完成しなかったどころか、莫大な借金を抱えるはめになったのです。)

Louis Waweru
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