Japanese word

かえって

Pronunciation

Romajikaette

Meaning

  • adverbinstead

Example

手伝ったら、かえって迷惑をかけました。te tsuda tta ra ka e tte mei waku o ka ke ma shi ta

I tried to help, but I caused trouble instead.

Illustration for かえって (instead)

More examples

説明を増やすと、かえって分かりにくくなります。setsu mei o fu ya su to ka e tte wa ka ri ni ku ku na ri ma su

Adding more explanations actually makes things harder to understand.

Core concept

Shows that a situation develops contrary to expectations, sometimes making an attempted solution worsen the result.

Common phrases

  • かえって迷惑をかけるka e tte mei waku o ka ke ru

    cause more trouble than good

  • かえって悪くなるka e tte waru ku na ru

    make things worse instead

  • かえって分かりにくくなるka e tte wa ka ri ni ku ku na ru

    make things more confusing instead

Similar words

逆にgyakuni: Shows that an action or situation produces an opposite result from the one expected.
むしろmushiro: Shows that the opposite choice, result, or description fits the situation better.

Definition in Japanese

ある行為や状況が、予想に反して逆効果になるさま。a ru kō i ya jō kyō ga yo sō ni han shi te gyaku kō ka ni na ru sa ma

Word origin

かえって (kaette, "instead") developed from かえりて (kaerite, "returning"), which is connected to 返る (kaeru, "to return") and the idea of turning back.

Usage tips

  • The English word instead covers several uses, but かえって (kaette) often comments on what an action causes rather than simply choosing one option over another.

Other meanings

  • ratheradverb
  • on the contraryadverb
  • all the moreadverb

Word lists with this word