〜わりに(は) (wari ni)

JLPT N2 For ~, surprisingly … — out of proportion with what you'd expect.

Meaning

“Considering ~ / for ~.” The result doesn't match the standard the topic would suggest.

Formation

Verb / い-adj (plain) + わりに

な-adj + な + わりに；Noun + の + わりに

Examples

このレストランは、値段のわりに量が少ない。

Kono resutoran wa, nedan no wari ni ryō ga sukunai. — For the price, this restaurant's portions are small.

彼はよく食べるわりに、太らない。

Kare wa yoku taberu wari ni, futoranai. — For how much he eats, he doesn't gain weight.

年のわりに若く見える。

Toshi no wari ni wakaku mieru. — He looks young for his age.

How it works

It sets up a standard (price, age, effort) and then points out a mismatch — the result is more, or less, than that standard predicts. The nuance is mild surprise.

Unlike 〜のに, it doesn't sound like a complaint; it's a neutral observation of imbalance.

Compared with similar expressions

• 〜わりに — “for ~,” result is out of proportion with the standard

• 〜のに — “even though,” stronger, often with frustration

• 〜だけあって — the result matches the cause (opposite feeling)

Common mistakes

• Noun needs の: 値段のわりに (not 値段わりに).

• Don't confuse with 〜だけあって — わりに means the result is unexpected, not fitting.

Related grammar

• 〜のに — even though

• 〜にしては — considering it's ~ (for a specific case)

• 〜だけあって — as expected of ~