Structure
Verb + くせに
［い］Adjective + くせに
［な］Adjective + な + くせに
Noun + の + くせに
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Standard
About くせに
癖 is a noun that means 'habit' or 'tendency'. However, as it usually refers to a negative thing, 'vice' is another accurate translation. くせに (usually appearing without kanji) is the combination of くせ, and the case marking particle に. This structure is often used to criticize the actions of others, and is used in a similar way to 'despite', 'even though', or 'and yet' in English.
As くせ is a noun, くせに may be used after the attributive form of any other word.
Fun Fact
癖 is a word that has developed a 'negative' meaning over time. Originally, 癖 was used to convey a preference, or the side that someone or something tended to lean toward (due to it being favorable for some reason). When adding the case marking particle に to this, it merely expressed that (A) was the preferable state/location, so (B) not being/not acting in a way appropriate for (A) is less than desirable.
Synonyms
のに
Despite, Although, Even though
Not studied yet
それでも
But still, And yet, Even so, Nevertheless
Not studied yet
ながらも
But, Even while, Even though, Despite, Although
Not studied yet
それなのに
And yet, Despite this
Not studied yet
にもかかわらず
Despite, In spite of, Regardless, Nevertheless
Not studied yet
つつ(も)
Even while ~ing, Even though ~ing, Despite ~ing, Although ~ing
Not studied yet
が
But, However
Not studied yet
Examples
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食べきれない癖にたくさん注文するのはやめてほしい。
Even though you cannot eat it all, you order a lot. I want you to stop (doing that). (despite)
昨日休んだ癖に、なんで知ったかぶりするの？
Why do you pretend to know (what we are talking about) despite having the day off yesterday?
あの人は先輩の癖に、いつも僕におごらせようとする。
Despite being my senior, he/she always tries to make me pay.
寒い癖に「寒くない」とやせ我慢するのはやめてください。
Please stop pretending like you're not cold even though you are. (despite)
給料を沢山もらっている癖に、貯金がないらしい。
Despite getting paid a lot, I have heard that he has no savings.
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～くせに
MaggieSensei
Grammar Notes and Breakdown
JLPT 先生
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Tobira
Page 173
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 269
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くせに – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (5 in total)
_max
Thank you for the answer!
But really still pretty confused.
癖に is kind of the same as のに, but with criticism.
So it’s like “despite”, “even though”, etc.
But in the example sentence we want to say “because”, not “even though”.
“Because you are a man, don’t cry”, not “Even though you are a man, don’t cry”, correct?
That’s why for me 癖に sounds strange in this sentence.
Scyamntic
I think the fun fact for the gramar point helps to elucidate here:
癖 is a word that has developed a ‘negative’ meaning over time. Originally, 癖 was used to convey a preference, or the side that someone or something tended to lean toward (due to it being favorable for some reason). When adding the case marking particle に to this, it merely expressed that (A) was the preferable state/location, so (B) not being/not acting in a way appropriate for (A) is less than desirable.
So 男のくせに泣くな
Can be thought of as:
- “From the standpoint of being a man, not crying is prefereable”
Or taking the more “habit” oriented meaning
- “A habit of men is not crying”
Definitely a weird coming from English, but the key take away to add to the primary meaning of “despite” in my opinion is this feeling of “(B) not being preferable”
_max
Wow, it really works! Thank you, didn’t pay much attention to the “Fun Fact” section.
Now, it kind of makes sense.
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