1.
despite; in spite of; although; even though
Formal expression for contrast between expectation and reality.
雨にも関わらず、試合は行われた。
Despite the rain, the match was held.
忙しいにも関わらず、手伝ってくれた。
Although she was busy, she helped me.
注意したにも関わらず、また同じ失敗をした。
Despite being warned, he made the same mistake again.
何度も練習したにも関わらず、本番では失敗してしまった。
Despite practicing many times, I failed during the actual performance.
彼は若いにも関わらず、会社で大きな仕事を任されている。
Despite being young, he has been entrusted with major work at the company.
にも関わらず expresses that the result is contrary to what would be expected given the circumstances. It is more formal than のに and emphasizes the unexpected contrast.
GRAMMAR PATTERNS:
- [noun] + にも関わらず: 雨にも関わらず (despite the rain)
- [verb plain form] + にも関わらず: 注意したにも関わらず (despite warning)
- [i-adjective] + にも関わらず: 若いにも関わらず (despite being young)
- [na-adj + な/である] + にも関わらず: 元気であるにも関わらず (despite being healthy)
REGISTER:
Formal/written. Common in news, essays, and business. In casual speech, のに is preferred.
SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:
- のに: although (casual, spoken — often implies frustration)
- けれども / が: but (neutral connectors)
- それにも関わらず: nevertheless (sentence-initial form)
- 〜にもかかわらず can also be written without kanji as にもかかわらず