N1 Set Phrases Reference: A Glossed Catalog of Advanced Japanese Grammar

This JLPT N1 set phrases reference collects sixteen high-yield advanced patterns. It groups them by function rather than listing them alphabetically. It is built for N1 candidates and advanced readers who already control N3–N2 grammar and want one scannable map of N1 set phrases to prioritize and drill.¹²

The "N1" tag here is a reference classification

The JLPT organizing bodies do not publish an official list of grammar, vocabulary, or kanji. They release only a summary of the competence required at each level.³ Every "N1" tag in this catalog therefore comes from recognized grammar references, chiefly A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar¹ and A Handbook of Japanese Grammar Patterns², not from the test maker. A few items, notably にあって, are tagged N2 by some learning sites. This catalog follows the advanced-grammar references.¹²

Quick-reference table

Phrase	Function	One-line gloss
～かたわら	Simultaneity & timing	while also doing X, alongside a main occupation
～が早いか	Simultaneity & timing	the instant that, no sooner than
～ながらに(して)	Simultaneity & timing	while remaining in a state, without changing
～いかんによって(は)／～いかんで	Condition & dependence	depending on, subject to how X turns out
～なくして(は)	Condition & dependence	without X, the rest cannot hold
～にあって	Condition & dependence	being placed in a special time, place, or situation
～にひきかえ	Concession & contrast	in sharp contrast to, unlike
～をよそに	Concession & contrast	ignoring, in defiance of
～ものを	Concession & contrast	if only X, and yet (regret or reproach)
～ようとも／～(よ)うと	Concession & contrast	no matter how, even if X
～までもない	Negation & restraint	there is no need to, it goes without saying
～までだ／～までのことだ	Negation & restraint	I will simply do X, that is all there is to it
～よもや…まい	Negation & restraint	surely X could not be the case
～きらいがある	Manner & circumstance	tends unfavorably to, has a bad tendency to
～べくして(～た)	Manner & circumstance	happened as it was bound to, inevitably
～わ～わで	Manner & circumstance	what with X and Y (an overwhelming pile-up)

How to use this reference

Each entry below gives the attachment form, a one-line meaning gloss, and a single model sentence. The entries are grouped by function, meaning what the phrase does in a sentence, rather than by alphabetical order.¹²

Treat the phrases inside a single cluster as a contrast set. Near-synonyms usually differ by tense, volition, and nuance rather than by core meaning. The boundary between two neighbors is the part worth studying.²

Overview: what counts as an N1 "set phrase"

The patterns in this catalog are multi-morpheme set patterns, meaning fixed patterns made from more than one meaningful part. They are larger than a single particle (助詞), and their idiomatic meanings cannot be fully deduced from their parts. Pattern dictionaries catalog them as fixed 文型 (sentence patterns) and 表現 (expressions) rather than as particles.²

Most belong to formal written register: news, editorials, academic prose, and legal or administrative documents. The rest are set spoken idioms. As a group they are rare in casual conversation.¹²

They sit at the advanced tier because they require control of plain and dictionary forms, awareness of classical residue (older forms that survive in modern Japanese, such as auxiliaries べし and まじ), and register sensitivity. The JLPT's top-level competence summary describes N1 as comprehension of logically complex and abstract writing.³

Simultaneity and timing

～かたわら

Form: Noun + の + かたわら; V-dictionary + かたわら. Formal and literary in flavor.¹²⁴

"While also doing X; alongside a main occupation or activity, on the side." One main pursuit runs in parallel with a secondary one. This is not the same-instant simultaneity of ながら.⁴¹

彼かれは大学だいがくで教おしえるかたわら、小説しょうせつを書かいている。¹
"Alongside teaching at the university, he writes novels."

～が早いか

Form: V-dictionary (or V-た) + が早いか. The main clause is in the past. Formal, written, narrative.⁵²

"The instant that; no sooner than." Two events fall so close together that you cannot tell which came first, often with a nuance of surprise. Literally, the phrase combines the case particle が, the い-adjective 早い ("early, quick"), and the particle か. Together, they frame the second event as following the first with no detectable gap.⁵²

彼かれは話はなしを聞きくが早はやいか、家いえを飛とび出だした。⁵
"The moment he heard the news, he dashed out of the house."

～ながらに(して)

Form: Noun + ながらに(して); V-stem + ながらに(して). して is optional and does not change the meaning. Formal and written.²

"While remaining in a state; without changing; from birth." It highlights that something exists or happens in an unchanged state, not at the same instant. It appears mostly in set expressions such as 生まれながらに (from birth), 涙ながらに (in tears), 昔ながらに (as in the old days), and 居ながらにして (without leaving where one is).²

人間にんげんは生うまれながらにして平等びょうどうである。²
"All human beings are equal from birth."

Condition and dependence

～いかんによって(は)／～いかんで

Form: Noun (+ の) + いかんによって(は)／いかんで. Formal and written; common in notices, contracts, and reports.²⁶

"Depending on; subject to how X turns out." The negative twin いかんによらず／いかんにかかわらず／いかんを問わず means "regardless of X." いかん is the noun 如何, glossed as 事の次第・なりゆき・ようす ("the course of events; how things turn out"). The phrase therefore reads "according to the circumstances of X."²⁶

検査けんさの結果けっかいかんによっては、入院にゅういんが必要ひつようになる。²
"Depending on how the test results turn out, hospitalization may become necessary."

～なくして(は)

Form: Noun + なくして(は); nominalized clause (こと) + なくして(は). The main clause is negative: X is impossible without it. Formal, written, and rhetorical. Common in speeches and editorials.²

"Without X, the rest cannot hold." Near-synonyms are なしに(は) and なしでは.²

努力どりょくなくして成功せいこうはない。²
"There is no success without effort."

～にあって

Form: Noun + にあって; sometimes にあっても (concessive) or にあっては (topicalized). Formal and written; regulations, reports, research papers.²

"In a special time, place, or situation; being placed in X." It marks a notable circumstance and then says something remarkable about it.

にあって carries a mixed level tag

Some learning sites place にあって at N3 or N2 rather than N1, and the level is mixed across sources. This catalog keeps it N1 to match the advanced-grammar references it is built on.¹²

非常時ひじょうじにあって、彼かれは冷静れいせいさを失うしなわなかった。²
"Being in a crisis, he did not lose his composure."

Concession and contrast

～にひきかえ

Form: Noun + にひきかえ; V or い-adj plain + のにひきかえ; な-adj + な／である + のにひきかえ. Also それにひきかえ. Formal and written.²

"In sharp contrast to; unlike." It sets two opposite ends of a spectrum and carries a subjective value judgment, often one good and one bad. This differs from the neutral に対して.²

兄あにが社交的しゃこうてきなのにひきかえ、弟おとうとはとても内気うちきだ。²
"In contrast to the sociable older brother, the younger brother is very shy."

～をよそに

Form: Noun + をよそに. Formal and written; news and narrative.⁷²

"Ignoring; in defiance of; with no regard for X." It is often critical, implying the subject disregards something they ought to heed. Common collocations are 心配をよそに (ignoring worries), 期待をよそに (contrary to expectations), and 反対をよそに (ignoring opposition).⁷²

親おやの心配しんぱいをよそに、彼かれは一人ひとりで世界せかい旅行りょこうに出でた。⁷
"Ignoring his parents' worries, he set off on a solo trip around the world."

～ものを

Form: Clause (plain; V or い-adj plain, な-adj + な) + ものを. Frequently in a ～ば～ものを frame. Often sentence-final with the rest left unsaid. Formal, literary, and emotionally loaded.²

"If only X (but); and yet." It expresses regret, dissatisfaction, or reproach that the desirable outcome did not happen.²

早はやく医者いしゃに行いけばよかったものを、我慢がまんするから悪化あっかしたんだ。²
"If only you'd gone to the doctor sooner; it got worse because you toughed it out."

～ようとも／～(よ)うと

Form: V-volitional + と(も); い-adj + かろうと; な-adj or Noun + であろうと. Formal, written, emphatic, and resolute.²

"No matter how; even if X." The result in the main clause holds regardless. The と(も) variant is more formal and emphatic.²

どんなに困難こんなんであろうとも、最後さいごまでやり遂やりとげる。²
"No matter how difficult it may be, I will see it through to the end."

Negation and restraint

～までもない

Form: V-dictionary + までもない (adverbial までもなく). Used in formal writing and formal speech.²

"There is no need to; it goes without saying." The matter is too obvious or too minor to require the action, as in the set phrase 言うまでもない ("needless to say"). It is made of まで ("to the extent or point") plus も plus ない ("there is not"). The literal sense is "it does not reach so far as to do X."²

この程度ていどの雨あめなら、傘かさをさすまでもない。²
"With rain this light, there's no need to bother with an umbrella."

～までだ／～までのことだ

Form: V-dictionary + までだ／までのことだ (resolve: "I will simply do X"); V-た + までだ／までのことだ (downplaying: "I merely did X"). Used in formal writing and formal speech.²

"I will simply do X; that is all there is to it." It conveys resignation or a fallback course. The dictionary-form variant often follows a なら clause.²

誰だれも助たすけてくれないなら、自分じぶんでやるまでだ。²
"If no one will help me, I'll simply do it myself."

～よもや…まい

Form: よもや (sentence-initial adverb) + clause + まい (negative conjecture). Also よもや…ないだろう. Formal, written, and literary; somewhat dated and emphatic.⁸²

"Surely X could not or would not be the case." It expresses strong incredulity that something so unlikely could happen. The dictionary derives よもや from the adverb よも plus the emphatic particle や. It glosses よもや as 万が一にも・いくらなんでも ("not in a million years; surely not"), and the phrase canonically pairs with a negating ～まい.⁸

よもや彼かれが裏切うらぎるとは思おもうまい。⁸
"Surely no one would imagine that he, of all people, would betray us."

Manner, circumstance, and outcome

～きらいがある

Form: V-dictionary (or V-ない) + きらいがある; Noun + の + きらいがある. Formal, written, and evaluative.²

"Tends unfavorably to; has a bad tendency to." The tendency is always negative, and the phrase often criticizes a person or group.²

彼かれは物事ものごとを悲観的ひかんてきに考かんがえるきらいがある。²
"He has a tendency to think about things pessimistically."

～べくして(～た)

Form: V-dictionary + べくして + the same verb in the past (する → すべくして…した). The same verb is repeated. Formal, written, literary, and editorial.²

"Happened as it was bound to; inevitably." The outcome was the natural, foreordained result of prior conditions, seen in hindsight. べく is the 連用形 (continuative form) of the classical auxiliary べし (obligation or expectation, written 可) plus the particle して. The 可 sense ("a state certain to come about in the logical course of events") drives the "bound to" reading.²

あの事故じこは起おこるべくして起おこった。²
"That accident happened as it was bound to."

～わ～わで

Form: V or い-adj plain + わ + V or い-adj plain + わで. For な-adj and nouns, use だわ. The phrase closes with で ("with, as a consequence"). Conversational to neutral, with a vivid, complaining tone.²

"What with X and Y (a pile-up, usually negative)." Two or more negative factors stack up to produce an overwhelming and usually unpleasant situation.²

財布さいふは落おとすわ電車でんしゃには乗のり遅おくれるわで、散々さんざんな一日いちにちだった。²
"What with dropping my wallet and missing the train, it was an awful day."

Good to know

Read for recognition first, produce later

These set phrases concentrate in news, editorials, and literary prose. The JLPT measures comprehension of such material rather than production. The official competence summary frames N1 around understanding logically complex, abstract writing, so reading mileage outperforms isolated flashcards for this band.³²

Several entries are limited to formal writing or set idioms, including かたわら, にあって, べくして, and ものを. Using them in casual speech is a register error even when the grammar is correct. Recognize them in text first.¹²

Learn near-synonyms as contrast sets

Items inside one cluster are separated by tense, volition, and nuance, not by core meaning. が早いか sits in a "the moment that" family with なり and そばから. These patterns differ by what kind of verb and tense each one allows.²⁵

いかんによって(は)／いかんで ("depending on") and its negative twin いかんによらず／いかんにかかわらず／いかんを問わず ("regardless of") form a single minimal pair. The contrast turns on the によって-versus-によらず ending. Learning that boundary prevents confusing them.²⁶

にひきかえ ("subjective contrast, with a value judgment") contrasts minimally with に対して ("neutral comparison"). Choosing にひきかえ commits the speaker to an evaluative stance.²

See also

• ～にしても: How to Say "Even Considering" or "Regardless Of" in Japanese (高いにしても買う)
• ～ものの: "Although / Even Though" in Japanese
• ～あげく / ～末に: After All That (Negative Outcome)
• ～かぎり / ～ないかぎり: As Long As / Unless
• The わけ-Family Negatives: ～わけではない, ～わけがない, ～わけにはいかない

References

Footnotes

1. Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar (日本語文法辞典 上級編). The Japan Times, 2008. ISBN 978-4-7890-1295-9. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

2. Group Jammassy (グループ・ジャマシイ). A Handbook of Japanese Grammar Patterns for Teachers and Learners (日本語文型辞典 英語版). Kurosio Publishers, English edition 2015. ISBN 978-4-87424-678-8. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹ ↩⁵² ↩⁵³ ↩⁵⁴

3. Japan Educational Exchanges and Services & The Japan Foundation. JLPT Official Worldwide FAQ, "Studying for the test" (on not publishing a Test Content Specifications list), https://www.jlpt.jp/e/faq/index.html; and Summary of Linguistic Competence Required for Each Level (N1 reading: "able to read writings with logical complexity and/or abstract writings on a variety of topics, such as newspaper editorials and critiques"), https://www.jlpt.jp/e/about/levelsummary.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. 『デジタル大辞泉』, entry 傍ら（かたわら）. Shogakukan, via Weblio. https://www.weblio.jp/content/傍ら ↩ ↩²

5. 『デジタル大辞泉』, entry が早いか. Shogakukan, via Weblio. https://www.weblio.jp/content/が早いか ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

6. 『デジタル大辞泉』, entry 如何（いかん）. Shogakukan, via Weblio. https://www.weblio.jp/content/如何 ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. MLC Japanese Language School (Tokyo). N1 grammar reference, ～をよそに. https://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/n1_04_05.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

8. 『デジタル大辞泉』, entry よもや. Shogakukan, via Weblio. https://www.weblio.jp/content/よもや ↩ ↩² ↩³