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Grammar detail: さえ, でさえ

さえ, でさえ  even, not ~ even, let alone
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noun
+
(で)さえ
or
verb stem
+
さえ
or
verb て form
+
さえ
means
even, not even, not so much as
かれ
わたし
さよならさえ
わなかった

He did not so much as say good-by to me.
The form でさえ is only used with nouns, and adds emphasis:
こども
子供
でさえこれ
こと
でき
出来

Even a child can read this.
かれ
せんせい
先生
でさえ
かれ
こと
りかい
理解
しなかった

Even his teacher didn't understand him.
You may also encounter the forms すら and ですら, which are just older forms of さえ and でさえ, and in modern Japanese typically only encountered in written texts. As with でさえ, ですら is only used with nouns.
さえ can also be used within conjugations, for added emphasis:
ちょっと
ちから
れて
とばし
さえすれば
たいてい
大抵
ものあっけなく
たお
そう
おも
えた

It felt as though as the bulk of it would just collapse with the slightest kick.
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Kanji used in this grammar

ヒ   かれ he   
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シ   わたくし    わたし I, myself   
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ゲン   ゴン   say; word   こと word, saying   い to say   
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シ   ス   こ child   
キョウ   ク   そなえる to make an offering   とも servant, attendant   
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ドク   トク   トウ   よ to read   
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シュツ   スイ   だ to take out, to put out   で to go out, to exit   
ライ   く to come   きた to be forthcoming   きた to induce   
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セン   さき ahead   
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セイ   ショウ    life   なま raw   いかす to enliven   いきる to live   いける to arrange flowers   うまれる to be born   う to give birth to   き pure, undiluted   お to grow, to sprout   はえる to grow, to sprout   はやす to grow, cultivate   
リ    logic   
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カイ   ゲ   と to untie, solve, resolve   とける to come undone, disappear   とかす to melt, dissolve   
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リョク   リキ   ちから effort; power   
ニュウ   い to enter   はい to enter   いれる to put in   
シュウ   け to kick   
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ダイ   タイ   おおきい big   おおいに very much   おお-    
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テイ    resist   
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ホウ   fall to pieces   くずれる to fall to pieces, to collapse   くず to destroy, to pull down   
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キョ   コ   さ leave   
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シ   おも to think   
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