～にもかかわらず
in spite of / despite
～にもかかわらず links a fact to an outcome that goes against what that fact would lead you to expect. It attaches to a noun or to a plain-form clause, and corresponds to English “despite” or “in spite of”.
It is a formal connective, common in news reports, announcements, and written Japanese. In casual conversation, のに usually does the same job. Unlike ～といっても, which softens your own statement, ～にもかかわらず reports a real result that defied the circumstances.
1. After a noun
Attach にもかかわらず directly to a noun that describes the unfavorable circumstance.
雨にもかかわらず試合は続いた。
“Despite the rain, the match continued.”
- 雨（あめ）= rain
- にもかかわらず = despite, in spite of
- 試合（しあい）= match, game
- は = topic marker
- 続いた（つづいた）= continued
2. After a clause
With verbs and い-adjectives, use the plain form directly before にもかかわらず. The second clause states what happened anyway.
熱があるにもかかわらず、彼は会社に行った。
“Despite having a fever, he went to the office.”
- 熱（ねつ）= fever
- が = subject marker
- あるにもかかわらず = despite having
- 彼（かれ）= he
- 会社（かいしゃ）= company, office
- に = direction marker
- 行った（いった）= went
How to form it
Noun / plain form + にもかかわらず
- 雨（あめ）= rain → 雨にもかかわらず（あめにもかかわらず）= despite the rain
- ある = to have, to exist → あるにもかかわらず = despite having
- 忙しい（いそがしい）= busy → 忙しいにもかかわらず（いそがしいにもかかわらず）= despite being busy
Key idea
～にもかかわらず sets up an expectation and then knocks it down: given the first fact, the second clause should not have happened, but it did. Reach for it in formal speech and writing where casual のに would sound too plain.
Other N2 grammar
Updated .