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Lesson Transcript

Hi everybody! Hiroko here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Japanese questions.
The question for this lesson is…What is the difference between 雨が降っているのに傘をささないの?(Ame ga futte iru no ni kasa o sasanai no?) and 雨が降っていても傘をささないの?(Ame ga futte ite mo kasa o sasanai no?)
Both of these expressions are asking why “someone’s not using an umbrella in the rain,” but is there a difference?
The meanings of のに(-no ni) and ても(-te mo) are a little bit different.. のに(-no ni) means “despite,” “in spite of” or “although,” while ても(-te mo) means “even if,” “even though” or “even when.”
For example, if you and your friend are about to go out on a rainy day, and you see she isn’t carrying an umbrella, you might say, 雨が降っているのに傘をささないの? (Ame ga futte iru no ni kasa o sasanai no?) Literally, this means “You don’t use an umbrella, although it’s raining?”
However, if your friend says she often doesn’t use an umbrella in general, you might say, 雨が降っていても傘をささないの?(Ame ga futte ite mo kasa o sasanai no?) “You don’t use an umbrella even when it’s raining?” ても(-te mo) is often used in hypothetical situations.
Let’s go through some examples so you can learn how to use のに(-no ni) and ても(-te mo) correctly.
Let’s first do an example with のに(-no ni)--
A: どうしたの。(Dō shita no.)
B: 旅行に行きたいのに、仕事を休めないの。(Ryokō ni ikitai no ni, shigoto o yasumenai no.)
A: “What’s wrong?”
B: “Although I want to go on a trip, I can’t take days off from work.”
These sentences are not hypothetical; they’re talking about a real situation. In this case, のに(-no ni) is used to express that despite the fact that Person B wants to take a trip, he/she is unable to because of the inability to get off work.
Now, let’s do an example with ても(-te mo)--
A: 仕事はそんなに忙しいの。(Shigoto wa sonna ni isogashii no.)
B: 旅行に行きたくても、仕事を休めないの。(Ryokō ni ikitakute mo, shigoto o yasumenai no.)
A: “Is your job that busy?”
B: “Even if I want to go on a trip, I can’t take days off from work.”
In this situation, Person A and Person B are talking about how busy Person B is at work. Therefore, Person B uses the hypothetical situation of going on a trip to highlight how busy he/she is. Person B is not talking about actually wanting to go.
The best way to practice using のに(-no ni) and ても(-te mo) is by starting with simple sentences and choosing whether you want to say “although” or “even if.” Then, you can pick which one you should use more easily.
How was this lesson? Did you get everything? Make sure to go to JapanesePod101.com for more practice!
Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them!
またね![mata ne!] See you!

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