銀行強盗を計画したあげく、道具を忘れて断念した。
After planning the bank heist, I forgot the tools and had to give up.
Read the explanation below to understand the nuance of how this grammar structure is used.
This grammar point is for when you’ve been doing some wild, stressful, or extra-long task, and after all that drama, the result ends up being trash.
The Nuance: All That Work for Nothin’
In the streets, ～あげく is what happens when you spend all night plotting a heist, arguing over who’s driving the getaway car, and dodging the feds, only for the vault to be empty at the end.
The nuance here is exhaustion and frustration. You didn’t just arrive at a result; you went through a long, painful process—maybe you debated, struggled, or worried—and then, bam, a negative or disappointing outcome hits you. It’s like The Wire—you spend five seasons trying to clean up the corners, and ageku, the game just stays the same.
The Metaphor
Think of ～あげく like a long, chaotic car chase through the Bronx. You’re weaving through traffic, tires screeching, sirens blaring, sweating through your jersey… and after twenty blocks of pure adrenaline, you realize you’re out of gas and the cops are already waiting at the dead end. All that effort just to get busted.
Read the table below then use it to conjugate some words you know.
Check the blueprint below so you don’t look like a rookie when you’re forming these sentences.
| Part of Speech | Rule | Example | Translation |
| Verb (Past) | Verb [た-form] + あげく | 殴ったあげく | After punching (them)… |
| Noun | Noun + の + あげく | 喧嘩のあげく | After a fight… |
To keep it 100, the conjugation is simple but specific. If you’re using a verb, it must be in the past tense (~ta form) because the long struggle already happened. If you’re using a noun, it’s gotta be a noun that implies some kind of action or duration—like “worrying,” “struggling,” or “questioning”—and you link it with the particle の.
Read and master the example sentences below.
三時間も説教されたあげく、組を追い出された。
After getting lectured for three hours, they kicked me out of the syndicate.
密輸の相談をしたあげく、結局寝坊して船を逃した。
After all that talk about smuggling, I ended up oversleeping and missed the boat.
散々脅したあげく、相手が空手の達人だと気づいた。
After threatening him for a while, I realized the dude was a karate master.
賭博で大負けしたあげく、身ぐるみ剥がされた。
After losing big at the underground casino, they stripped me of everything, even my clothes.
拳銃を隠し持っていたあげく、空港の検査で見つかった。
After carrying a concealed piece for so long, I finally got caught at airport security.
縄張り争いのあげく、全員逮捕された。
After a long turf war, every single one of us got arrested.
密告を繰り返したあげく、誰にも信じてもらえなくなった。 After snitching repeatedly, nobody believed a word I said anymore.
嘘をつき通したあげく、ボロが出て詰められた。
After lying my ass off, I slipped up and got cornered.
銃撃戦のあげく、弾が切れて素手で戦う羽目になった。
After a long gunfight, I ran out of ammo and had to use these hands.
必死に逃げ回ったあげく、自分の家の前で捕まった。
After running for my life, I got caught right in front of my own crib.
Keep your head on a swivel and your grammar on point. Don’t let all your studying be in vain, or you’ll be using ageku to describe your failing N2 score.
Stay gold, stay dangerous, and keep grinding.
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