くせに details
write + even though
kaku kuse ni
even though; and yet — contemptuous, the subject should know or act better
下手なくせに、いつも偉そうに言うよね。
heta na kuse ni, itsumo erasou ni iu yo ne.
You're bad at it, and yet you always talk like you're the expert. casual
知ってるくせに、教えてくれなかった。
shitteru kuse ni, oshiete kurenakatta.
Even though he knew, he wouldn't tell me. casual
- colloquial
Examples
even though; and yet — contempt at someone not living up to a fact about them
下手なくせに、いつも偉そうに言うよね。
heta na kuse ni, itsumo erasou ni iu yo ne.
You're bad at it, and yet you always talk like you're the expert. casual
知ってるくせに、教えてくれなかった。
shitteru kuse ni, oshiete kurenakatta.
Even though he knew, he wouldn't tell me. casual
何も知らないくせに、偉そうなことを言ってしまった。
nani mo shiranai kuse ni, erasou na koto o itte shimatta.
Even though I didn't know anything, I went and said something high-and-mighty. neutral
Formation
{V}くせにattaches to dictionary formplain clause + くせにattaches to plain clausei-adj + くせに (若いくせに)attaches to i-adjectivena-adj + なくせにattaches to na-adjective{N}のくせにattaches to noun
Variant notes
- くせして — even more openly insulting than くせに — common in scolding and arguments (子供[こども]のくせして！), not the everyday default.
Notes
the exception (see the self-directed example above). The noun row wants
an animate/role referent (子供のくせに). No formal life — a polite
complaint reaches for のに instead.
Related patterns
Similar
ながらも concedes a fact with restraint, sometimes even humility (若[わか]いながらも頑張[がんば]った); くせに voices open contempt at the subject for failing to act as the fact implies (若いくせに生意気[なまいき]だ) — swap くせに in for ながらも and a modest concession turns into an insult.
Lookalikes
Same 逆接 frame (下手[へた]なのに／下手なくせに), but のに reads as neutral-to-regretful surprise while くせに openly sneers at the subject for not living up to what the fact implies — swapping くせに in where のに was meant turns a comment into an insult.