〜ことに: 'To My Surprise/Delight' (Speaker's Feeling)
What it means
〜ことに lets you announce your reaction before you give the news. You take an emotion word — 驚いた ("was surprised"), 残念な ("regrettable"), うれしい ("happy") — attach ことに, and place it at the front. The rest of the sentence is the fact you feel that way about. English does this with sentence adverbs: "unfortunately, …", "to my surprise, …", "happily, …".
残念なことに、試合は中止になった。
ざんねんな ことに、しあいは ちゅうしに なった。
Unfortunately, the match was cancelled.
驚いたことに、ヤッタンは漢字を千個も覚えていた。
おどろいた ことに、ヤッタンは かんじを せんこも おぼえていた。
To my surprise, Yattan had memorized a thousand kanji.
驚いた = past form; the feeling is the speaker's.
うれしいことに、モチも試験に合格した。
うれしい ことに、モチも しけんに ごうかくした。
Happily, Mochi passed the exam too.
The optional は (〜ことには) adds a touch of emphasis and is a little more literary; ことに alone is the everyday choice.
How to form it
The word before ことに is a feeling / evaluation word, attached the way its part of speech normally connects to a noun (since こと is a noun):
| Word type | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | adj + ことに | うれしいことに (happily) |
| な-adjective | adj + な + ことに | 残念なことに (unfortunately) |
| Verb (past) | verb-た + ことに | 驚いたことに (to my surprise) |
Most verb examples use the past (た) form, because a reaction is usually to something that has already become clear: 驚いた, がっかりした ("was disappointed"), 困った ("was troubled"). With adjectives you use the plain present.
More examples
困ったことに、財布を家に忘れてきた。
こまった ことに、さいふを いえに わすれてきた。
Annoyingly, I left my wallet at home.
困った is a fixed favorite: 'troublingly / annoyingly.'
ありがたいことに、先生が放課後に教えてくれた。
ありがたい ことに、せんせいが ほうかごに おしえてくれた。
Thankfully, the teacher taught me after school.
おかしなことに、弟は怒るどころか笑い出した。
おかしな ことに、おとうとは おこるどころか わらいだした。
Oddly enough, my little brother, far from getting angry, burst out laughing.
Common mistakes
- Using a non-emotion word. ことに only works with feeling/evaluation words. ✗ 雨が降ったことに、試合は中止になった (just states a fact, no reaction). To express a plain reason, use 〜ので instead.
- Putting it in the middle or end. The whole point is to front the sentence: 驚いたことに、… (✓). Don't tack it on at the end like a normal noun phrase.
- Wrong attachment for な-adjectives. It's 残念なことに, not ✗残念ことに. な-adjectives keep their な before こと.
- Defaulting to the present tense on verbs. A reaction looks back on something, so the past form is standard: 驚いたことに (✓), not usually 驚くことに.
Quick recap
- 〜ことに = front a sentence with the speaker's feeling about what follows.
- Only emotion / evaluation words: 驚いた, 残念な, うれしい, 困った, ありがたい.
- Attach: い-adj + ことに / な-adj + な + ことに / verb-た + ことに.
- It fronts the sentence and sounds expressive, somewhat written.
Your turn
Pick the feeling word and form that correctly fits 〜ことに.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
Does 〜ことに always go at the start of the sentence?
Yes. The construction works by fronting your reaction before the fact: 驚いたことに、彼は来なかった. Placing it mid- or end-sentence breaks the pattern.
What's the difference between ことに and ことには?
They mean the same thing. Adding は (〜ことには) gives slight emphasis and feels a little more literary; ことに alone is the more common, neutral choice.
Can I use any verb before ことに?
No — only verbs expressing a feeling or evaluation, and usually in the past form: 驚いた, がっかりした, 困った. A neutral verb like 降った (rained) doesn't work.
Is 〜ことに formal?
It's expressive and leans somewhat written. It's perfectly fine in essays, articles, and careful speech, but in very casual chat people often just say 残念だけど or びっくりした、〜.