N1 Appearance, Manner, and Resemblance

~ながらに / ~ながらの: meaning, usage and examples

~ながらに / ~ながらの means: while... / with... (maintaining a state).

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 生うまれながらにして、才能さいのうに恵めぐまれた人ひとだ。

   He's a person blessed with talent from birth.

2. 昔むかしながらの製法せいほうで作つくられた和菓子わがし。

   Japanese sweets made with traditional methods.

3. 被害ひがい者しゃの家族かぞくは、涙なみだながらに当時とうじの様子ようすを語かたった。

   The victim's family tearfully described what had happened.

4. インターネットのおかげで、居いながらにして世界中せかいじゅうの情報じょうほうが手てに入はいる。

   Thanks to the internet, you can get information from all over the world without leaving home.

When to use it

Means "in the state of, unchanged from" and is used in fixed expressions: 生うまれながらに (from birth), 昔むかしながらの (as it has always been), 涙なみだながらに (in tears), 居いながらにして (without leaving where you are), いつもながら. Example: 昔むかしながらの製法せいほう, a traditional method unchanged for generations.

Nuance

Set phrases, slightly formal. It is not the basic "while doing" ながら: it describes a lasting state, not two actions at once. ながらにして adds emphasis and appears in writing.

Compare

The ながら joins two actions: 音楽おんがくを聞ききながら勉強べんきょうする. ながらに describes a state that stays the same: 涙なみだながらに語かたる (spoke in tears). まま is the everyday "as is": 靴くつを履はいたまま入はいる. ながらの works only with its fixed nouns; まま is free.

Tip: Learn the five fixed ones as vocabulary: 生うまれながら, 昔むかしながら, 涙なみだながら, 居いながら, いつもながら. Do not create new ones with other nouns.