案の定|あんのじょう
Just as expected; sure enough. Marks an outcome that matches what the speaker had predicted or feared, most often an unfavorable one.
SentenceA complete sentence. It can end in a verb, an adjective, or a noun + だ／です.
雨が降る・昨日は寒かった・明日は休みです
SubjectThe "who" or "what" of a sentence: the one doing the action or in the state. Japanese often marks it with が or は.
猫が寝ている：猫・私は学生だ：私
PredicateThe part of a sentence that says what the subject is, what it is like, or what it does. In Japanese it usually comes at the end.
私は学生だ：学生だ・空が青い：青い・雨が降る：降る
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Common in both conversation and writing when reporting that something turned out exactly as foreseen, typically something the speaker worried about. It looks back on a confirmed result, unlike words for inference or surprise.
Do not use 案の定 when the outcome was surprising; it only fits results that match what was expected.
Do not confuse 案の定 with 案外, which means 'unexpectedly' and signals the opposite nuance.
Note that 案の定 most often introduces unwelcome outcomes, so using it for pleasant results can sound odd.
- 1.果たしてN2「果たして」 can also pair with 「だろうか」 and similar expressions to mean 'really/on earth'; 「案の定」 has no such use. When meaning 'sure enough,' the two are close, but 「果たして」 leans literary, while 「案の定」 is register-neutral and typically refers to a bad outcome.
- 2.と思いきやN1「と思いきや」 means the exact opposite: the expectation fell through and the outcome was a surprise, whereas 「案の定」 means the prediction came true. 「と思いきや」 follows the expected content and leans literary, while 「案の定」 is a neutral-register adverb, so the two cannot be interchanged.
- 3.わけだN3「わけだ」 is used at the end of a sentence to draw a logical conclusion from known facts, or to express the 'no wonder' realization upon learning the reason afterward; 「案の定」 is an adverb indicating that a prior expectation (usually of something bad) came true. The two cannot be interchanged.
- 4.どうやらN2「案の定」 makes a definite statement that an earlier expectation has become fact; 「どうやら」 is a conjecture based on signs before your eyes, usually paired at the end with 「らしい」 or 「ようだ」, and it also has a 'finally/at last' sense. The two cannot be interchanged.
- 5.というわけだN1「案の定」 is an adverb placed at the start or middle of a sentence, showing that a prior expectation (usually of something bad) has come true; 「というわけだ」 goes at the end of a sentence to sum up a conclusion from the preceding facts or explain how things came about, with no prior expectation involved. The two cannot be interchanged.
果たして can also mean 'sure enough' but is more literary and also appears in doubtful questions ('I wonder if…'), while と思いきや marks a result contrary to expectation, the opposite of 案の定. どうやら expresses an inference about what seems to be the case rather than a confirmed outcome, and わけだ / というわけだ are sentence-final forms presenting a logical conclusion or explanation, not an adverb of confirmed expectation.
