Skip to main content
Gogaku

All N3 grammar

N3

(その)一方(で)

On the other hand, meanwhile (two parallel sides)machine translation

FormationVerb / い-adjective in plain form + 一方(で); な-adjective + な一方(で); noun + である一方(で); sentence-initial: その一方で

〜一方で(いっぽうで)places two SIDES of the same thing, or two contrasting facts, next to each other: 都会は便利な一方で、生活費が高い (the city is convenient; on the other hand, living costs are high). The two clauses don't negate each other — both are true; they're simply two different aspects.

At the start of a new sentence, use その一方で: end the previous sentence, then open the next with "meanwhile, on the other hand." This is a style much favored in journalism and essays when comparing two trends: 輸出が増えている。その一方で、輸入は減っている.

Don't confuse it with 〜一方だ at the END of a sentence — that pattern means "keeps on going (in one direction)" and is a separate grammar point. Also distinguish it from のに・ながらも: those two carry a concessive sense of "although A, B," while 一方で is neutral, simply laying the two sides out in parallel for the reader to weigh.

Examples

Related patterns

All N3 grammarReport a content error