信じられないことに、あいつは一人で六人を倒した。
しんじられない ことに、 あいつ は ひとり で ろくにん を たおした。
Unbelievably, that dude took down six guys by himself.
In short, 〜ことに is used to emphasize a personal feeling or a new realization. It’s like you’re sayin’, “I gotta admit, it’s pretty wild that…” or “I’m surprised to find out that…” It gives the sentence a dramatic flair, like the climax of a Scorsese film.
Here’s how you hook this grammar up with your words. Peep the chart.
| Conjugation Rule | Example Transformation | Full Example Sentence |
| Verb = Past Tense (た-form) + ことに | 驚く → 驚いたことに (odoroita koto ni) | 驚いたことに、警察署長は俺たちの内通者だった。 おどろいた ことに、 けいさつ しょちょう は おれたち の ないつうしゃ だった。 To my surprise, the police chief was our inside man. |
| i-Adjective = い-form + ことに | 嬉しい → 嬉しいことに (ureshii koto ni) | 嬉しいことに、ターゲットの豪邸に番犬がいなかった。 うれしい ことに、 たーげっと の ごうてい に ばんけん が いなかった。 To my joy, the target’s mansion didn’t have a guard dog. |
| na-Adjective = Stem + な + ことに | 幸い → 幸いなことに (saiwai na koto ni) | 幸いなことに、目撃者はひどい近眼だった。 さいわいな ことに、 もくげきしゃ は ひどい きんがん だった。 Fortunately, the only witness was extremely nearsighted. |
So here’s the 411 on that. For verbs, you gotta hit ’em with the past tense, the plain ol’ た (ta) form. Easy peasy. For your i-adjectives, the ones that end in ‘i’, you just keep that ‘i’ and slap 「ことに」 right on the end. And for the na-adjectives, you drop the ‘da’, add a 「な」 (na), and then follow it up with 「ことに」. It’s all about makin’ sure that emotion word flows right into the 「ことに」, lettin’ everybody know what time it is.
Imagine you and your crew are planning a big-time heist. You got the blueprint, the getaway car, and the crew’s all ready. But when you get to the bank, the alarms are already blaring. You turn to your crew and say, “Man, I was expecting a smooth job, but it turns out the joint was already hot.” The “it turns out” part, that’s 〜ことに. It’s that moment of realization when the plan goes sideways, and you gotta highlight the unexpected twist.
This ain’t just for bad news, though. Let’s say you’re expectin’ the cops to show up, but they don’t. You can say, “Man, I was ready for a shootout, but surprisingly the whole block was clear.” See? It’s about a realization, a surprise, or a highlight.
Check out these fresh new words to add to your arsenal.
騙す (だます)
English: To deceive; to trick; to cheat; to hustle.
“Damasu” is when someone plays you for a fool. They runnin’ game on you, tellin’ you one thing but doin’ another. It’s like a rapper boastin’ ’bout his ice, but it’s all fake, you dig? They hustle you, make you believe the hype, and then they dip with your cash or your trust. It’s all about that smoke and mirrors, that street con. Stay woke, or you gonna get got.
チャラになる
English: To be quits; to be even; to call it a wash.
“Chara ni naru” is when the slate is wiped clean. Say you owe your homie a favor, but then you come through for him on a big deal. All that debt, all that obligation? It’s gone. Y’all are square now. It’s like you drop a diss track, they drop one back, and you both agree the beef is settled. No more bad blood. Everything’s cool. We call it even.
目撃者 (もくげきしゃ)
English: Eyewitness.
That’s the cat who sees it all go down. When the deal gets messy or the heat comes ’round the corner, they the one who’s watchin’ from the sidelines. They see who did what, who was there, the whole nine. In the streets, bein’ an eyewitness can be a dangerous game, you feel me? See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. ‘Cause snitches get stitches, and the “mokugekisha” knows they gotta lay low if they know what’s good for ’em.
呆れる (あきれる)
English: To be amazed; to be shocked; to be fed up.
“Akireru” is that feelin’ when someone does somethin’ so dumb, so outta pocket, you can’t even be mad. You just look at ’em, shake your head, and be like, “for real?” It’s that level of disbelief. Like your boy spends his whole paycheck on some flashy gear but can’t make rent. You ain’t even angry, you just… damn. It’s a mix of bein’ disappointed and straight up stunned at their foolishness. You’re just over it, you know what I’m sayin’?
腹立たしい (はらだたしい)
English: Irritating; aggravating; vexing.
“Haradatashii” is when someone or somethin’ is really grindin’ your gears. It ain’t just annoyin’, it’s that deep-down frustration that makes you wanna wild out. It’s like when some clown disses your crew or your favorite artist for no reason. It’s that disrespect that gets under your skin and makes your blood boil. It’s that “I’m two seconds from poppin’ off” feelin’. Straight up vexing.
Here are some real-deal examples so you can see how this joint works in action.
驚いたことに、彼は裏切り者だと分かった。
おどろいたことに、かれはうらぎりものだとわかった。
To my surprise, I found out he was a traitor.
残念なことに、アジトが警察にバレてしまった。
ざんねんなことに、アジトがけいさつにばれてしまった。
Unfortunately, our hideout was found by the police.
嬉しいことに、ボスが俺たちを許してくれた。
うれしいことに、ボスがおれたちをゆるしてくれた。
Fortunately, the boss forgave us.
幸いなことに、誰も怪我をしなかった。
さいわいなことに、だれもけがをしなかった。
Luckily, no one got hurt.
腹立たしいことに、俺たちのシノギを奪われた。
はらだたしいことに、おれたちのシノギをうばわれた。
Annoyingly, our business was taken from us.
奇妙なことに、その事件には目撃者がいない。
きみょうなことに、そのじけんにはもくげきしゃがいない。
Strangely, there are no witnesses to that incident.
ありがたいことに、あの借金はチャラになった。
ありがたいことに、あのしゃっきんはチャラになった。
Thankfully, that debt was wiped clean.
呆れたことに、あいつは嘘をついて俺を騙そうとした。
あきれたことに、あいつはうそをついておれをだまそうとした。
Astonishingly, that guy tried to lie to and deceive me.
驚くべきことに、その武器は本物だった。
おどろくべきことに、そのぶきはほんものだった。
Surprisingly, that weapon was the real deal.
不思議なことに、誰もその金に触れていない。
ふしぎなことに、だれもそのかねにふれていない。
Mysteriously, no one has touched that money.
Aight, that’s the word. Don’t be a mark. Stay sharp, and keep it real.
Peace.
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