のにIn order to

Regarded as a conjunction particle by itself, のに is simply a fusion of the case marking particles の and に. のに has two primary functions in Japanese. It can be used to show that something is the opposite of what is expected for (A) (translated as 'despite'), or it can be used to show that something is required for (A) to be realized (translated as 'in order to'). We will focus on the 'in order to' meaning in this lesson.

To use のに, simply attach it to the base (non-past) form of a verb that you would like to express as being the 'goal', before following it with the conditions required to meet that goal.

Fun Fact

Although のに can be translated as 'despite', or 'in order to', it actually has the same meaning in each of these situations. の nominalizes what comes before it (turning it into a noun-phrase), while に converts that new noun-phrase into a 'location', or 'goal'. In this way, のに always means 'to that which is (A), (B)'.