N2 · Expressions (N2)
いっぽう: on the other hand, and more and more
while, whereas; meanwhile; ever more
One word with three jobs: a contrast inside a sentence, a change of subject between sentences, and a trend that only goes one way.
一方 means "one side", and inside a sentence 一方で sets one side of something against another: 都会は便利な一方で、物価が高い, "the city is convenient, but on the other hand prices are high". It follows the plain form of a verb or an i-adjective, a na-adjective with な, and a noun with である. In writing the で is often dropped.
At the start of a sentence, 一方、 turns to a different subject: "meanwhile", "on the other hand". News reports use it constantly to move from one region, party or figure to the next — the previous sentence is about the capital, the next begins 一方、地方では.
After the dictionary form of a verb of change, 一方だ means something else again: the change keeps going in one direction, and usually in the wrong one. 物価は上がる一方だ, "prices just keep going up". Only verbs that describe a change can take it — 増える, 減る, 悪くなる, 広がる.
English speakers get the last use wrong most often, because "more and more" fits any habit in English. 毎日勉強する一方だ is not a sentence: studying is not a change, so there is no trend for 一方だ to describe. Turn the habit into a change first — the time spent studying grows.
The form
| contrast, after a verb | 働く一方で |
| after an i-adjective | 安い一方で |
| after a na-adjective | 便利な一方で |
| after a noun | 教師である一方で |
| opening a sentence | 一方、… |
| a one-way trend | 増える一方だ |
The rules one by one
Inside a sentence, 一方で sets two sides of one thing or one person against each other, or adds a second activity.
彼は会社で働く一方で、夜は大学に通っている。He works for a company and, alongside that, goes to university in the evenings.
At the start of a sentence, 一方 turns to a different subject.
都市部では人口が増えている。一方、農村では減り続けている。In the cities the population is growing. In the countryside, meanwhile, it keeps falling.
After a verb of change, 一方だ means the change only goes one way.
輸入品の値段は上がる一方だ。Import prices just keep on rising.
A noun takes である before 一方で.
彼女は医者である一方で、小説も書いている。She is a doctor, and she writes novels as well.
A closer look
いっぽうで and のにたいして
Both set two things against each other, and they do it from different positions. のに対して stands outside and compares two separate subjects as equals: this city is dry, that one is wet. 一方で can do that too, but it is at its most natural when the two sides belong to one subject — a convenience and its cost, a strength and its weakness.
It can also join two activities of one person that run side by side, which のに対して cannot: 働く一方で勉強もする, "works and studies as well". Read the second half to decide whether the sentence contrasts or adds.
How to spot it
- 一方で
- 一方、
- 一方だ
- その一方で
Example sentences
インターネットは便利な一方で、危険も多い。The internet is convenient, but it also has many dangers.
彼は仕事に厳しい一方で、部下にはとても優しい。He is demanding about the work, but very kind to his team.
東日本は晴れるでしょう。一方、西日本では雨が降る見込みです。Eastern Japan should be sunny. In western Japan, by contrast, rain is expected.
病状は悪くなる一方だった。His condition only got worse.
仕事が増える一方で、人は増えない。The work keeps growing, but the number of staff does not.
輸出が伸びた。その一方で、国内の消費は落ち込んだ。Exports grew. At the same time, spending at home fell.
7 more example sentences
この薬はよく効く一方で、副作用も強い。This medicine works well, but its side effects are strong too.
母は家事をこなす一方で、地域の活動にも参加している。My mother runs the household and takes part in local activities as well.
交通事故は減っている。一方、自転車の事故は増えている。Road accidents are falling. Bicycle accidents, on the other hand, are rising.
川の水は汚れる一方だ。The river just keeps getting dirtier.
都会の生活は刺激的である一方、疲れることも多い。City life is stimulating, but it also wears you out.
子どもの数は減る一方だ。The number of children keeps falling.
彼は厳しいことを言う一方で、陰ではいつも助けてくれる。He says harsh things, but behind the scenes he is always helping.
Worth knowing (1)
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その一方で opens the second side
その一方で takes the whole previous sentence as the first side and opens the second: "at the same time", "but then again". It is the most natural way to add a counterweight in an essay without starting the argument again.
便利な道具が増えた。その一方で、自分で考える時間は減った。Handy gadgets have multiplied. At the same time, the time we spend thinking for ourselves has shrunk.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
一方だ describes a change that runs in one direction, so it needs a verb of change in front of it. Studying every day is a habit, not a change. To say that you study more and more, name what is growing — the time, the number of hours — and let 増える carry the change.
いっぽうで contrasts, いっぽう at the start changes the subject, and いっぽうだ needs a verb of change.
Your turn
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