Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 10: 5/22

()()

In stark contrast, In comparison, On the other hand, While, In sharp contrast

Structure

Noun+にひきかえ
[な]Adjective+な・であるにひきかえ
[い]Adjective+にひきかえ
Verb+にひきかえ
Phrase (A)。それにひきかえ、Noun は+Phrase (B)

Details

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    Standard

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    一般

About にひきかえ

()() is a grammar pattern that is used for making contrasts between things, and will be translated as ‘in comparison to (A), (B)’, or ‘in stark contrast to (A), (B)’. The literal translation is ‘pulling back and switching away from (A), (B)’. This ‘switching away from’ portion may be used as a reminder of the large size of the difference that this grammar pattern usually indicates.
()() is a combination of the case-marking particle に, the conjunctive form of the う-Verb ()く ‘to pull’, ()き, and the conjunctive form of the る-Verb ()える ‘to switch between’, or ‘to interchange’, ()え.
()() may follow almost any type of word, but will require a の to precede it before い-Adjectives or verbs, and なの to precede it before な-Adjectives.
  • (まわ)りの(ひと)たちはどんどん就職(しゅうしょく)していっているの()()(おれ)はまだ面接(めんせつ)さえしていない。
    In stark contrast to the people around me, who are getting jobs, I haven’t even gone to an interview.
  • うちの(むすめ)(あたま)がいいの()()、うちの長男(ちょうなん)はゲームばかりして全然(ぜんぜん)勉強(べんきょう)をしようともしない。
    In stark contrast to my daughter, who is smart, all my eldest son wants to do is play videogames and won’t even try to study.
  • 親戚(しんせき)全員(ぜんいん)裕福(ゆうふく)なの()()、なぜか(わたし)家族(かぞく)だけが貧乏(びんぼう)
    In stark contrast to all my relatives, who are wealthy, my family is poor for some reason.
  • 去年(きょねん)(なつ)()()今年(ことし)(なつ)はえげつなく(あつ)い。
    In stark contrast to summer last year, summer this year is extremely hot.
(A) and (B) will always be two opposite ends of some kind of spectrum, where one is considered to be good, while the other is regarded as bad based on the subjective opinion of the speaker.
Additionally, それにひきかえ may be used to begin sentences where the comparison is being made to a previous statement.
  • (まわ)りの()たちを()てみなさいよ!みんな来年(らいねん)から大学(だいがく)よ!それ()()、あんたったら。。。
    Look at the kids around you! They are all going to college starting next year! In stark contrast to that you…
Caution
Both (A) and (B) will be facts that are plainly observable or measurable. Due to this, ()() will not be used in sentences that make assumptions or guesses.
  • (いま)(さむ)いの()()(ひる)になったら(あたた)かくなるかもしれない。
    In stark contrast to it being cold right now, it would probably get warmer at noon. (Unnatural Japanese)

Examples

  • 母親(ははおや)友達(ともだち)息子(むすこ)さんは、弁護士(べんごし)として立派(りっぱ)(はたら)いているにひきかえ(ぼく)は・・・(まだフリーターだ)。

    In stark contrast to my mother's friend's son, who is working prominently as a lawyer, I am… (still a permanent part-timer)

    Since one side of the comparison is evaluated positively, and the other negatively, the comment or description can be omitted and the reader or listener will get the intended meaning from the context.

  • (あね)積極的(せっきょくてき)活発(かっぱつ)性格(せいかく)にひきかえ(おとうと)健太郎(けんたろう)とても無気力(むきりょく)だ。

    In stark contrast to the elder sister's lively personality, the younger brother, Kentaro, is very apathetic.

  • (あに)優秀(ゆうしゅう)成績(せいせき)をおさめている。それにひきかえ(いもうと)(ほう)(あそ)んでばかりだ。

    The elder brother has excellent grades. In stark contrast to that, the younger sister is just mucking around.

  • 前回(ぜんかい)テストにひきかえ今回(こんかい)テスト(むずか)しい

    In stark contrast to the previous test, this one is hard.

  • (となり)(いえ)(ねこ)()せていて(あたま)がいいにひきかえうちの(ねこ)はぐうたらしてばかりだなあ。

    In stark contrast to the neighbor's cat, which is skinny and smart, our cat is just loafing around.

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にひきかえ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (1 in total)

  • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

    About 1 year ago

    Is this phrase more commonly written in kana or as に引き換え? I get 2.6 million hits on に引き換え and only 500,000 for にひきかえ on Google, so I was surprised to see it here on Bunpro in kana only.

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