What's… is that: 〜ことに
Adj-い / Adj-な + な / Verb-た + ことに
Emotion word + ことに, at the start of a sentence: “what's (regrettable, surprising, happy) is that…”, followed by a fact. Written or careful spoken register.
In short
〜ことに announces, at the start of the sentence, how the speaker feels about the fact they're about to relate: 残念なことに “unfortunately”, 驚いたことに “to my surprise”, うれしいことに “to my delight”. It's a storytelling device, in writing or careful speech: first the emotion, then the fact.
- 残念なことに、雨で花火大会が中止になった。ざんねんなことに、あめではなびたいかいがちゅうしになった。Unfortunately, the fireworks display was cancelled because of the rain.
- 驚いたことに、彼女は五か国語が話せるそうだ。おどろいたことに、かのじょはごかこくごがはなせるそうだ。To my surprise, she apparently speaks five languages.
- うれしいことに、私たちの店が雑誌で紹介された。うれしいことに、わたしたちのみせがざっしでしょうかいされた。To our delight, our shop was featured in a magazine.
The basics
With 〜ことに, the speaker starts with their reaction: “what's regrettable is that…”, “what surprised me is that…”. The fact itself comes afterwards, in the rest of the sentence. English has close equivalents: “oddly enough”, “to my delight”, “unfortunately”, “much to my surprise”.
It's a storytelling effect: you prepare the reader for the emotion before handing over the information.
Unfortunately, the fireworks display was cancelled because of the rain.
- adjective
- grammatical form
- noun
- verb
- うれしいことに、来年名古屋で国際大会が開かれる。うれしいことに、らいねんなごやでこくさいたいかいがひらかれる。Good news: an international tournament will be held in Nagoya next year.
How to form it
ことに follows a word of emotion or evaluation. An い-adjective stays as it is, a な-adjective keeps な, a verb goes in the た past (the surprise has already happened). A few combinations are almost fixed and come up all the time.
| Word | Form | Common examples |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | 〜いことに | うれしいことに・ありがたいことに・おもしろいことに |
| な-adjective | 〜なことに | 残念なことに・幸いなことに・不思議なことに |
| Verb (past) | 〜たことに | 驚いたことに・困ったことに・あきれたことに |
- ありがたいことに、たくさんの方から応援のメッセージをいただきました。ありがたいことに、たくさんのかたからおうえんのめっせーじをいただきました。We were lucky enough to receive many messages of support.
- 困ったことに、会議の資料がまだ届いていない。こまったことに、かいぎのしりょうがまだとどいていない。The problem is that the meeting documents still haven't arrived.
What can follow
What follows is always a real fact, observed or reported. You can't continue with an order, a request, a question or an intention: ×残念なことに、来てください is impossible.
And what comes before ことに must express a feeling or a judgement. A purely descriptive adjective doesn't work: ×高いことに, ×大きいことに.
- おもしろいことに、この町では夏より冬のほうが観光客が多い。おもしろいことに、このまちではなつよりふゆのほうがかんこうきゃくがおおい。Curiously, this town gets more tourists in winter than in summer.
Neighbours and older forms
残念ながら is the everyday, more neutral equivalent of 残念なことに; 幸い on its own (adverb) is shorter than 幸いなことに. 〜ことに puts more stress on personal emotion.
You also meet 〜ことには, mainly with 言う: 彼の言うことには “according to what he says”. It's old-fashioned, found in folk tales and old stories. Finally, don't confuse it with ことにする / ことになる (to decide, to be decided), which are unrelated.
| Form | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 残念なことに | what's regrettable is that | written, narrative |
| 残念ながら | unfortunately | everyday |
| 〜の言うことには | according to what… says | old-fashioned, folk tales |
| 〜ことにする | to decide to | everyday (different meaning) |
- 残念ながら、今回は参加できません。ざんねんながら、こんかいはさんかできません。Unfortunately, I won't be able to take part this time.
- おじいさんの言うことには、山の上に古い寺があるそうだ。おじいさんのいうことには、やまのうえにふるいてらがあるそうだ。According to the old man, there's an old temple at the top of the mountain.
Common mistakes
- Using an adjective with no emotion: ×高いことに. You need a word expressing what you feel (うれしい, 残念, 驚いた).
- Forgetting な after a な-adjective: 残念なことに, not ×残念ことに.
- Ending with a request or an intention: what follows must be a fact.
- Confusing it with ことにする (to decide) because you see こと + に.
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the Tsurumai Line (Arts and letters) of the Nagoya lines.