connective N2 common politewritten
ものの — although
ものの
Builds on もの
Meaning
- although ~ / ~ but (in fact) — admits something is true, then notes reality falls short of what it implies
Key sentence
大学を出たものの、就職先が見つからない。
Although I graduated from university, I can't find a job.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain-form clause (i-adj / V; na-adjな・である; Nである) + ものの | [clause] + ものの | 買ったものの / 便利なものの |
Examples
やると言ったものの、どう進めるか決めていない。
I said I'd do it, but I haven't worked out how to go about it.
体は丈夫なものの、無理は禁物だ。
Sound in body though I am, overdoing it is still a no-no.
Easily confused with
のに のに expresses surprise or grievance that B clashes with A; ものの is drier and more written — it simply concedes A, then observes that things didn't follow through as A would suggest, without the emotional sting. とはいえ とはいえ concedes a whole point then counters it ('that said, …'); ものの links the concession and the shortfall *within one sentence* (Aものの、B), and the clause before it can't be a bare noun.
Notes
- とはいうものの ('having said that') is a fixed sentence-opener built on it. ものの leans literary; in speech が or けど covers the same ground.
See ものの in real sentences
Jengo shows ものの the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.