Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 7: 16/21

(わり)

Although, Despite, Rather...for, Unexpectedly, Comparatively, Considering

Structure Legend

Structure

Verb + わりに
[い]Adjective + わりに
[な]Adjective + + わりに
Noun + + わりに

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About 割に

As an adverb, (わり) is usually used in a similar way to 'although', 'despite', or 'comparatively' in English.
(わり) may be used at the beginning of a sentence, or after any word/phrase that it is highlighting as being 'comparative'. When following な-Adjectives or nouns, な or の will be required.
  • この(にく)(たか)(わり)(あじ)ないね。
    Although this meat is expensive, it is not flavorful.
  • (ふと)ている(わり)運動(うんどう)神経(しんけい)いいんだね。
    Although you are fat, you are very athletic, aren't you?
  • この機械(きかい)パワーは(つよ)(わり)めちゃくちゃ(おそ)です
    Although this machine is very powerful, it is very slow.
  • この部屋(へや)綺麗(きれい)(わり)(くさ)ね。
    Although this room is clean, it smells bad.
  • ラッシュアワーの(わり)()ていますね。
    Although it is during rush hour, the road is very clear.
(わり) itself is a noun meaning 'proportionate', and is primarily used as a suffix. (わり) may be thought of as a direct extension of this use, as 'proportionately' is its closest literal meaning.
Fun Fact
While (わり) is often thought to make comparisons between things, it actually only ever compares something to itself (or things within the same category). The 'proportion' that is then highlighted is something that is not common within the category of (A).
Caution
Both (わり)と and (わり) are quite common expressions. However, (わり)と is used far more often in casual speech to show that something is 'unexpectedly (A)'. It will also frequently be used as a stand-alone expression, appearing directly before the word (usually an adjective) that is of a 'considerable' amount.
  • これ(わり)美味(あい)しいよ。
    This is unexpectedly tasty.
  • 昨日(きのう)()った包丁(ほうちょう)(わり)といい
    The knife I bought yesterday is quite good.

Examples

  • (たか)()(もの)わりに美味(おい)しくなさそう。

    The expensive food looks unexpectedly unappetizing.

  • (わたし)たくさん勉強(べんきょう)したわりにテスト点数(てんすう)(わる)かった。

    Although I studied a lot, I got a bad score on the test.

  • あの(ひと)(あたま)()わりに、コミュニケーションが苦手(にがて)です。

    Although that person is smart, he is bad at communication.

  • (つか)れているわりには、かなり(うご)けた(ほう)だと(おも)います。

    I think he is rather quite active for how tired he is.

  • 今日(きょう)(ふゆ)わりに(あたた)かい

    Today is rather warm for winter.

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割に – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • tylus

    tylus

    About 3 years ago

    I’m not sure if I misunderstood something, but based on the video of Nihongo no Mori we should only use わりに for positive outcomes, while くせに is used for negative outcomes.

    There are a lot of example sentences that do not follow this rule, so I wanted to ask if it really applies here.
    Thanks!

  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    About 3 years ago

    @tylus Hey! Both わりに and くせに can be used with unexpected, negative outcomes. However, わりに can also be used when the outcome is positive, whileくせに cannot. Cheers!

  • conan

    conan

    About 1 year ago

    While going through DIJG, they mention 割合 as another way of saying 割と, which I saw mentioned on this grammar point, but not 割合. I wasn’t sure if it was worth also bringing up 割合 as well.

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