Confused about the grammar in a sentence (〜ては、かえって、だろう）、

Japanese
#1

I am working through the N3 Shinkanzen Master grammar book in tandem with bunpro. Some of the grammar points don’t exactly line up and I am simply looking for an explanation of the following example sentence used in Shinkanzen Master.

山中さんは手術したばかりだから、お見舞いに行ってはかえって迷惑だろう。

The grammar point is 〜ては…・〜（の）では… for which the book gives an English translation as:

Given that (assuming/supposing) ~, … can be expected (unwanted outcome where … is a phrase that has a negative meaning.

I’m unsure as to whom would be inconvenienced here and whether it would be paying a visit is troublesome, or not paying the visit is troublesome. I believe that かえって is messing me up (I am assuming this is the word for ‘on the contrary’, though jisho.org also gives the definition ‘all the more’).

So, my guess is that the sentence means roughly “Since Yamanaka just had surgery, going to visit him would (probably) be all the more troublesome,” but something feels off about it.

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#2

I think the nuance here is that normally visiting someone in the hospital would be welcome, but if they just had surgery, it might be inconvenient for them to receive a visitor.

  • 行っては: Supposes “if I go” (Bunpro grammar point for ては usually just translates to “if”)
  • かえって: Emphasizes that this possible outcome is contrary to the expected outcome of a hospital visit
  • だろう: Adds uncertainty

If translating to English, it might be something like: Yamanaka just had surgery, so if I go visit the hospital, it might actually be an inconvenience (to Yamanaka).

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#3

Maybe one nuance of ては is that it is often used to imagine the consequences of something already happening, existing, or under discussion:

そのように力を入れて回してはネジがだめになってしまいますよ。(“putting that much force into it will strip the screw” — said to someone turning a screw.)

そんなに長くては鞄に入らないので、半分に折ってください。(“something that long won’t fit into my bag, so fold it in half” — said about an object that is clearly already too long)

Basically, as I read it, the structure emphasizes that without intervention, something untoward will occur. In the sentence about visiting someone in the hospital, it’s the polite and expected thing to do. But actually in this case it would be bad because reasons.

Curious if others also get that nuance.

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