に限って
(Ni kagi te)
of all (things/people/times) / precisely when.
Connection rules
- ＋Noun + に限って + (typically negative or surprising main clause).
- ＋Contrastive / exceptional — marks X as the unexpected instance.
- ＋Often in complaints: 急いでいるときに限って、電車が遅れる ('of all times, the train is delayed when I'm in a hurry').
Examples
1.
急いでいる時に限って、電車が遅れる。
Isoi de iru toki ni kagi te, densha ga okureru.
Of all times, the train gets delayed when I'm in a hurry.
「of all (things/people/times) / precisely when」
2.
うちの子に限って、嘘はつかない。
Uchi no ko ni kagi te, uso wa tsuka nai.
Not my child — he would never lie.
「of all (things/people/times) / precisely when」
Practice
Of all times, it starts raining precisely when I don't have an umbrella.
___、雨が降り出す。
Romaji also accepted