732 - かたわら
JLPT N1: かたわら (along with; alongside; aside from)
かたわら is a conjunction that connects two phrases. It means something like "along with," "alongside," or "aside from."
The phrase before かたわら is the main activity that one is doing, and the phrase after かたわら is an additional activity that one is doing on the side.
An example:
彼女は大学に通うかたわら、映画館でアルバイトもしている。
かのじょ は だいがく に かよう かたわら、 えいがかん で アルバイト も している。
Aside from being a college student, she also works (part-time) at a movie theater.
Literally: “she + は + university + に + commute + かたわら, + movie theater + で + part-time job / (non-career) job + も + is doing.”
To clarify who we're talking about, we start with:
彼女は
かのじょ は
as for her
Literally: “she + は”
Phrase #1 is the main activity she is doing:
大学に通う
だいがく に かよう
(she) attends university // (she) goes to college
Literally: “university + に + commute”
Phrase #2 is the additional activity she is doing:
映画館でアルバイトもしている
えいがかん で アルバイト も している
(she) also works (part-time) at a movie theater
Literally: “movie theater + で + part-time job / (non-career) job + も + is doing”
We combine those two phrases using かたわら, giving us the sentence:
彼女は大学に通うかたわら、映画館でアルバイトもしている。
かのじょ は だいがく に かよう かたわら、 えいがかん で アルバイト も している。
Aside from being a college student, she also works (part-time) at a movie theater.
Literally: “she + は + university + に + commute + かたわら, + movie theater + で + part-time job / (non-career) job + も + is doing.”
As you may know, I work with an editor in Tokyo for the bulk of my writing and translating jobs. While preparing to write this lesson, I was thinking that he surely must have used かたわら in one of the many emails we've sent one another over the last several years.
A quick search, and there it was:
編集の仕事のかたわら、中学生・高校生に英語を教えようと思っているんだけど...
へんしゅう の しごと の かたわら、 ちゅうがくせい・こうこうせい に えいご を おしえよう と おもっている んだ けど...
Alongside my editing work, I’m thinking of teaching English to junior high and high school students, and...
Literally: “editing + の + job / work + の + かたわら, + junior high school students + high school students + に + English + を + am thinking of teaching (=let’s teach + と + am thinking) + んだ + けど...”
This was about six months after he had started his editing company in 2014. Since his company didn't have that many clients at the start, he was thinking of teaching students on the side. This gave him a nice opportunity to use かたわら in a sentence.
Oh, by the way, I only included the first half of the sentence because the entire thing was quite long — he was commenting on the advice on NihongoShark and how it overlapped with some of what he was planning to teach his students.
🚧 Construction 🚧
We have already seen the two patterns in which かたわら will appear:
V る ＋ かたわら
NOUN ＋ の ＋ かたわら
alongside V/N; aside from V/N
We saw:
大学に通うかたわら
だいがく に かよう かたわら
aside from attending college
Literally: “university + に + commute + かたわら”
編集の仕事のかたわら
へんしゅう の しごと の かたわら
alongside editing work
Literally: “editing + の + job / work + の + かたわら”
How is かたわら different from ～ながら？
If you're studying for N1, then I imagine that you're already highly familiar with how the verb-ending ～ながら is used to say something like "while."
If not, you can do some review: [NDL #420] - JLPT N5: ～ながら (while).
The main difference is that かたわら cannot be used for actions that occur over a short interval of time. So:
〇 レシピを見ながら、すき焼きを作った。
〇 レシピ を みながら、 すきやき を つくった。
〇 I made sukiyaki while looking at a recipe.
〇 Literally: “recipe + を + while looking at, + sukiyaki + を + made.”
✕ レシピを見るかたわら、すき焼きを作った。
✕ レシピ を みる かたわら、 すきやき を つくった。
✕ I made sukiyaki along with looking at a recipe.
✕ Literally: “recipe + を + look + かたわら, + sukiyaki + を + made.”
Although かたわら cannot be used for short-interval activities, ～ながら can be used for both activities that only take a short amount of time and activities that span a lengthy period of time.
For example, in our ～ながら lesson, we saw this sentence, which you'll notice is quite similar to one we saw earlier in this lesson:
弟は昔、レストランでアルバイトをしながら、大学に通っていた。
おとうと は むかし、 レストラン で アルバイト を しながら、 だいがく に かよっていた。
A long time ago, my (little) brother worked at a restaurant while going to college.
Literally: “younger brother + は + long ago, + restaurant + で + (part-time) job / (non-career) job + を + while doing, + university + に + was commuting.”
Three かたわら sentences, and you'll have mastered yet another grammar point...
レイチェルさんは子供にピアノを教えるかたわら、国境なき医師団のスタッフとしても活動しているそうです。
レイチェル さん は こども に ピアノ を おしえる かたわら、 こっきょう なき いしだん の スタッフ として も かつどう している そうです。
Along with teaching piano to children, apparently Rachel-san also does work for Doctors Without Borders.
Literally: “Rachel-san + は + children + に + piano + を + teach + かたわら, + Doctors Without Borders (=border + -without + team of doctors) + の + staff + as (=として) + も + activity + is doing + そうです (=[hearsay marker]).”
わたしは子育てのかたわら、月に２回手作り石鹸教室を開いています。
わたし は こそだて の かたわら、 つき に にかい てづくり せっけん きょうしつ を ひらいています。
Aside from raising my kids, I also teach a handmade soap-making class twice a month.
Literally: “I + は + child-raising + の + かたわら, + month + に + two times + handmade + soap + classroom + を + am opening.”
父は家具屋の経営のかたわら、趣味で正義のヒーローもしている。
ちち は かぐ や の けいえい の かたわら、 しゅみ で せいぎ の ヒーロー も している。
Aside from managing a furniture store, my father is also a superhero as a hobby.
Literally: “father + は + furniture store + の + management + の + かたわら, + hobby + で + justice + の + hero + も + is doing.”
Note: スーパーヒーロー is a word, too, by the way.
That's it.
お疲れ様です！
おつかれさまです！