わりに(は) — Considering That
Introduces a result that is surprising or disproportionate given the preceding condition — 'considering...', 'for...', or 'despite...'. It highlights a gap between what you'd expect from the situation and what is actually true, often in a positive or unexpected way.
Structure
[Verb / い-adj plain form] + わりに(は) ／ [な-adj な / Noun の] + わりに(は)
Examples
この店は値段が高いわりに、料理がおいしくない。
Kono mise wa nedan ga takai wari ni, ryouri ga oishikunai.
For how expensive it is, this restaurant's food isn't good.
高い + わりに contrasts the high price with disappointing quality.
彼は年齢のわりには若く見える。
Kare wa nenrei no wari ni wa wakaku mieru.
He looks young for his age.
Noun 年齢 + の + わりには marks the gap between age and appearance.
あまり勉強しなかったわりには、いい点が取れた。
Amari benkyou shinakatta wari ni wa, ii ten ga toreta.
Considering I didn't study much, I got a good score.
しなかった + わりには shows the result exceeded expectations.
• Highlights a mismatch between expectation and reality; the result can be better or worse than expected. • Noun connects with の; な-adjectives with な. • Register: neutral, very common in conversation.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones わりに(は) is tested against.
vs のに
のに expresses simple contradiction/complaint ('even though'), while わりに(は) specifically measures a result against a proportional expectation.
vs にしては
にしては judges against a set standard/label, whereas わりに(は) can compare against a scalable degree (price, effort, age).
More comparison
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