What is the difference between “にしては”, “のわりに”, and “のくせに”?

When you are learning Japanese, you may be confused by the many expressions with similar meanings.

This time, I will explain three different expressions: “にしては”, “のわりに”, and “のくせに”, and compare them.

Let’s check the meaning of these expressions and see when you can use them!

”にしては”, “のわりに”, and “のくせに” are expressions used when the result is different from what you expected or hoped for.

For example, if you say, “このおかし、¥100にしてはおいしいね! (This candy tastes great for 100 JPY!) it means that you expected that the taste would not be so good for 100 JPY, but it turned out delicious.

In the same way

”このおかし、¥100のわりにおいしいね！”(This candy tastes good even though it costs only 100 yen.)

”このおかし、¥100のくせにおいしいね！”(This candy tastes good even though it costs 100 yen.)

you can say like this, but there are some differences.

First of all, “くせに” has an insulting implication. “¥100のくせに (Even though it’s only 100 yen),” which implies that you are looking down on a 100-yen snack.

In addition, you can often use “にしては” when your thoughts differ from what is generally expected, and “のわりに” when your subjective expectations differ from what is generally expected.

So when you want to express your personal opinion, you use “のわりに”.

It is also important to remember that you cannot use “~にしては” after an adjective. You can say, “このおかし、やすいわりにおいしいね！(This candy tastes great even though it is cheap!)” , but “このおかし、やすいくせにおいしいね！(This candy tastes great despite its cheap price!)” sounds like a sarcastic compliment.

As you can see, there are slight differences in the usage of “にしては”, “のわりに”, and “のくせに”. If you have a chance to come into contact with Japanese, please pay attention to which one they are using. 

Let’s increase your knowledge of the Japanese language and enjoy learning Japanese even more!

Even so, it’s hard to understand the differences in grammar.

There is no one nearby who can teach me the differences in grammar in an easy-to-understand way.

I want to learn grammar more clearly.

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