JapaneseJLPT
JLPT N3 grammar · Chapter 4

～わりに

Surprisingly, considering the circumstances

You’ll be able to describe a result that differs from what you would expect based on a stated condition.

Illustration of the scene described by Considering how cheap the price was, they were very delicious peaches.
Read it first

値段ねだんが安やすかったわりに、とてもおいしい桃ももでした。

nedan ga yasukatta wari ni, totemo oishii momo deshita.

What do you think this sentence means?

Considering how cheap the price was, they were very delicious peaches.

Why it means that

Compared with what you would expect

～わりに means “considering...” or “for....” The first part gives a fact that suggests one expectation; the rest gives a result that is different from that expectation.

Examples

よく食たべるわりに、やせています。

yoku taberu wari ni, yasete imasu.

They are thin, considering how much they eat.

この店みせは有名ゆうめいなわりに、おいしくないです。

kono mise wa yuumei na wari ni, oishikunai desu.

For such a famous restaurant, the food is not good.

How it is built

Attach it to the stated condition

Use noun + のわりに, な-adjective + なわりに, い-adjective + わりに, or plain verb + わりに. The contrast can be favorable or unfavorable.

condition+わりに+unexpected result
Example

彼かれは年齢ねんれいのわりに若わかく見みえます。

kare wa nenrei no wari ni wakaku miemasu.

He looks young for his age.

Compare

～わりに vs ～にしては

Both mean “for …” and introduce a result that goes against expectations. ～わりに weighs the result against a scale such as age, price or amount (年齢ねんれいのわりに, 安やすいわりに), and can follow adjectives. ～にしては takes one specific fact or category as the standard (六十歳ろくじゅっさいにしては) and follows a noun or verb, not an い-adjective.

  • ～わりに, considering

    父ちちは年齢ねんれいのわりに、若わかく見みえます。

    chichi wa nenrei no wari ni, wakaku miemasu.

    My father looks young for his age.

    Compares his looks with his age in general.

  • ～にしては, for (a specific case)

    父ちちは六十歳ろくじゅっさいにしては、若わかく見みえます。

    chichi wa rokujussai ni shite wa, wakaku miemasu.

    My father looks young for a sixty-year-old.

    Takes the specific fact of being sixty as the standard.

Examples

この店みせは、値段ねだんが高たかいわりに量りょうが少すくない。

kono mise wa, nedan ga takai wari ni ryou ga sukunai.

This restaurant’s portions are small considering how expensive it is.

祖母そぼは年としのわりに、スマホの使つかい方かたをよく知しっている。

sobo wa toshi no wari ni, sumaho no tsukaikata o yoku shitte iru.

For her age, my grandmother knows a lot about using a smartphone.

この洗濯機せんたくきは、音おとが静しずかなわりに、パワーが強つよい。

kono sentakuki wa, oto ga shizuka na wari ni, pawaa ga tsuyoi.

This washing machine is powerful, considering how quiet it is.

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