～にもかかわらず: "Despite (various things)..."

Introduction

Despite writing this entire lesson, I still can only pronounce the main grammar point correctly half of the time. And y'know what, that's okay. What am I, a perfect-Japanese-pronouncer? No! (I wish I was, though.)

～にもかかわらず: In spite of my good looks...

構成こうせい

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  Verb/い-adjectiveにもかかわらず

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  Noun/な-adjective(である)にもかかわらず

  Example:
  → 悪天候あくてんこうにもかかわらず、漁りょうへと出発しゅっぱつした。
  "Despite the poor weather, they left for fishing.”

Once again, we're starting with the Japanese overview of the grammar point we're learning today!

日本語にほんご文法ぶんぽう説明せつめい

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  Ｘのような状態じょうたいなのにY

• 

  予想よそうと違ちがったことに対たいする、話はなし手ての驚おどろき・不満ふまん・非難ひなんなどの気持きもちを表あらわす。

Okay, did you read it this time? Oh, you did? Haha,... I don't believe you.

Well, if you skipped some of it again because you were busy relearning how to ride a bike, here's the usual English explanation.

Overview

The tongue-twister ～にもかかわらず pattern is all about expressing "In spite of X, Y", and tends to be used when the speaker wants to say things are different than they expected, and that they are consequently surprised, displeased, or otherwise critical of the situation.

In English

In terms of translation, we have many good options to pick from, including "Despite...", "In spite of...", and "Regardless of...". Remember to be flexible depending on the context!

Similar grammar

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  ～のに (Apprentice #27)

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  ～くせに (Adept #31)

Like always, we'll compare and contrast similar grammar points at the end of the lesson!

Other forms

～にもかかわらず may occasionally appear in its kanji form as にも拘かかわらず. This should not be confused with the ～にかかわらず pattern, which has a different meaning and is written in kanji as ～に関かかわらず.

Politeness

～にもかかわらず is stiff/formal in tone and is mainly used in written contexts. When used in spoken contexts, it will sound stiff.

例文れいぶん

～にもかかわらず can attach to verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and we'll split the examples up accordingly!

動詞どうし + にもかかわらず

Don't make the mistake of thinking that～にもかかわらず statements are always negative in tone. Since it can be used for general statements of surprise as well, positive sentences are also very possible!

い形容詞けいようし + にもかかわらず

な形容詞けいようし(である) + にもかかわらず

For な-adjectives and nouns, we can optionally use である to attach them to にもかかわらず. However, do keep in mind that in written contexts, using である will sound stiffer, and in spoken contexts, more formal-sounding.

名詞めいし(である) + にもかかわらず

にもかかわらず on its own

Lastly, let's take a look at how we can use にもかかわらず on its own at the start of a sentence. Usually, this means that we're referring back to the previous sentence, which we can do with or without それ.

Here are a few examples!

Compare and contrast with similar grammar

Although～のに and ～くせに can both be used to express "despite/in spite of X", they are both much more casual and more spoken than ～にもかかわらず.

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  ～のに sounds more spoken and is more commonly used in casual situations.

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  ～くせに sounds even more casual/spoken, and has a more critical nuance to it. Naturally, this tends to be used when criticising something/someone.

And that's a wraaaaap on にもかかわらず (which I still can't get quite right every time; something about the か+わ+ら combo???).

Summary

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  The ～にもかかわらず pattern is used to indicate that something goes against the speaker's assumptions/expectations, and is often used in conjunction with a statement of criticism or a remark of displeasure/disappointment. It may also be used as a general statement of surprise.

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  ～にもかかわらず is formal/stiff in tone, and is often used in written contexts.

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  ～にもかかわらず can attach to verbs, adjectives, and nouns.

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  For な-adjectives and nouns, である may optionally be used to attach to ～にもかかわらず.

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  にもかかわらず can also come at the start of a sentence, and refers back to something previously stated. それ may also be used, but is optional.