逆に～（ぎゃくに）

About

逆ぎゃくに is an adverb that means "conversely; on the contrary" and is used to set up a contrasting statement. Usually, the information that follows 逆ぎゃくに goes against either what was established before it in the sentence/conversation/general common sense, or one's presumptions.

There are many options for the translation of 逆ぎゃくに, and the best one will depend on the surrounding sentence. Translations such as "on the contrary; actually; conversely" are common.

The general usage of 逆ぎゃくに can be used in both casual and polite scenarios. The newer, slang usage of 逆ぎゃくに is casual.

E.g. 間まに合あわないと思おもって急いそいだら、逆ぎゃくに早はやく着つきすぎた。 "I thought I wouldn't make it in time and rushed, but I actually got there too early."

E.g. 休暇きゅうかが長ながすぎると逆ぎゃくに疲つかれる気きがする。 "I feel like holidays that are too long are actually tiring."

A slang usage of 逆ぎゃくに has appeared recently, and can be used even when things aren't "to the contrary":

E.g.
A：「何歳なんさいですか？」 "How old are you?"
B：「逆ぎゃくに何歳なんさいに見みえますか？」 "Actually, how old do I look?"

E.g.
A：「カレー食たべに行いこうよ。」 "Let's go eat curry."
B：「えー、カレーか...。逆ぎゃくに海鮮丼かいせんどんとかどう？」 "Ooh, curry. Actually, what about kaisendon or something?"

Summary

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  逆ぎゃくに is an adverb that means "conversely; on the contrary; actually" and is used to set up a contrasting statement

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  逆ぎゃくに can also be used in casual speech as an interjection

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  The general usage of 逆ぎゃくに can be used in both casual and polite scenarios; the newer, slang usage of 逆ぎゃくに is casual