Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 6: 3/20

反面(はんめん)

While, On the other hand, Although, However, On the flip side

Structure

Verb + 反面(はんめん)
［い］Adjective + 反面(はんめん)
［な］Adjective + な(1) + 反面(はんめん)
Noun + である + 反面(はんめん)
Phrase + が + （、）+ 反面(はんめん)

(1) である

Details

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    Standard

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    一般

About 反面

反面(はんめん), a noun meaning 'the opposing side', is a construction in Japanese that appears between two phrases, to show two contrasting or opposite features of a single person or thing. This usually translates as 'while (A), (B)', 'although (A), also (B)', 'on the other hand to (A), (B)'.
Being a noun, 反面(はんめん), can be used after any word that could create a modified noun, such as verbs, い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, or even other nouns followed by である.
  • 都内(とない)に引(ひ)っ越(こ)して色々(いろいろ)と便利(べんり)になった反面(はんめん)、家賃(やちん)が前(まえ)住(す)んでいた所(ところ)の倍(ばい)になった。
    While moving to Tokyo has made many things more convenient, the rent has doubled from where I used to live.
  • カリフォルニアの夏(なつ)は日本(にほん)より暑(あつ)い反面(はんめん)、湿度(しつど)が低(ひく)いので過(す)ごしやすいそうです。
    Although summer in California is hotter than Japan, I heard that it is more comfortable because of the low humidity.
  • あの日本語(にほんご)教室(きょうしつ)の先生(せんせい)達(たち)は日本語(にほんご)を教(おし)えるのがとても上手(じょうず)な反面(はんめん)、生徒(せいと)達(たち)にはとても厳(きび)しいそうだ。
    Although the teachers at that Japanese language school are very good at teaching Japanese, they are very strict with their students.
  • 田中(たなか)くんはとても頭(あたま)のいい子(こ)である反面(はんめん)、怠(なま)け者(もの)なのでいつも先生(せんせい)に怒(おこ)られています。
    Although Tanaka-kun is very smart, he is always getting scolded by the teacher because he is lazy.
Caution - Because 反面(はんめん) is used to express contradictions, it will most often describe a positive and a negative, but cannot describe a positive and another positive, or a negative and another negative.
  • あのパティシエが作(つく)るお菓子(おかし)はとても美味(おい)しそうに見(み)える反面(はんめん)、食(た)べてみると味(あじ)はいまいちだそうだ。
    While the pastries made by that pastry chef look very tasty, the taste is not so good when you try them. (Natural Japanese)
  • あのパティシエが作(つく)るお菓子(かし)はとても美味(おい)しそうに見(み)える反面(はんめん)、とても美味(おい)しいそうだ。
    While the pastries made by that pastry chef look very tasty, apparently, they taste very good. (Unnatural Japanese)

Examples

  • 熱帯林(ねったいりん)は綺麗(きれい)に見(み)える反面(はんめん)、野生(やせい)動物(どうぶつ)、熱帯(ねったい)病(びょう)などのため、非常(ひじょう)に危険(きけん)だ。

    While tropical forests look pretty, they are extremely dangerous because they house things like wild animals and tropical diseases.

  • 運動(うんどう)をよくすることは健康(けんこう)のためにいいことである反面(はんめん)、人(ひと)は能力(のうりょく)以上(いじょう)の成果(せいか)を望(のぞ)むため、怪我(けが)をしてしまう傾向(けいこう)がある。

    Although exercising often is good for your health, since people desire achievements beyond their abilities, they tend to injure themselves.

  • 一人暮(ひとりぐ)らしは楽(たの)しい反面(はんめん)、自分(じぶん)で料理(りょうり)したり掃除(そうじ)したりする必要(ひつよう)もある。

    While living alone is fun, it is also necessary for you to do all the cooking, cleaning, and the like.

  • 最近(さいきん)、スマホは必要(ひつよう)不可欠(ふかけつ)な反面(はんめん)、人(ひと)はテクノロジーに溺(おぼ)れて、人間関係(にんげんかんけい)が希薄(きはく)になるばかりだ。

    Recently, while smartphones are essential, people are drowning in technology and human relations are getting more and more sparse.

  • 白菜(はくさい)は健康(けんこう)的(てき)だと言(い)われている。その反面(はんめん)、場合(ばあい)によってむくみの原因(げんいん)になる事(こと)もある。

    Chinese cabbage is said to be healthy. On the other hand, depending on the situation, it can also become a cause of bloating.

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