当あたり前まえ vs. 当然とうぜん: Why Japanese Learners Make Mistakes?

What is the difference between “当あたり前まえ” and “当然とうぜん“? Did you know how native speakers use “当あたり前まえ” and “当然とうぜん” depending on the situations? After reading this, you would be able to answer about it. Let me introduce how you correctly use 当あたり前まえ and 当然とうぜん today!

当然とうぜん

Definitely / Of course / That’s totally obvious.

Basically both ”当あたり前まえ” and “当然とうぜん” are used as the same meaning that is “Definitely, Of course, or That’s totally obvious.”, however, “当然とうぜん” is a little bit formal than “当あたり前まえ” for us native Japanese speakers. Although “当然とうぜん” is used as an adverb, a noun and an adjective, “当あたり前まえ” isn’t used as the adverb. So you would be able to say “当然とうぜん、私わたしは怒おこる。(I definitely get angry.)”, however, you wouldn’t be able to say “当あたり前まえ、私わたしは怒おこる。” which is wrong. I’ve mentioned how to use “当あたり前まえ” below.

Example

たつや
今回こんかい、お前まえが練習れんしゅうをさぼっていたから日本代表選手にほんだいひょうに選えらばれなかったんだよ！当然とうぜんだよ！ (I know you’ve been skipping practice nowadays so that’s why you weren’t chosen as a Japanese international this time.) (这次你因為翘掉练习所以才没被选上成为日本国手，这是理所当然的吧。) (이번엔 네가 연습을 게을리했으니까 일본 대표 선수로 뽑히지 않은거야! 당연한거다.) (lần này vì mày lười biếng tập luyện nên đã không được chọn làm tuyển thủ quốc gia Nhật Bản đấy. Cái đó là đương nhiên!)

ゆかまた、０点てんとってしまった・・・当然とうぜん、お母かあさん怒おこるだろーな。 (Well, I’ve got a goose egg again. I think mom will get definitely mad at me.) (又考是0分，妈妈会生气也是理所当然的吧。) (또 0점 맞았다… 엄마 당연히 화내시겠지) (Lại bị 0 điểm rồi… Đương nhiên, mẹ lại cáu cho mà xem…)

たつや道みちで拾ひろった財布さいふは交番こうばんに届とどけろよ！当然とうぜんだろ！ (Take the wallet picked up on the street to a police box! That’s totally obvious!) (把在路上捡到的钱包交给警察局，这是理所当然的事情吧。) (길에서 주운 지갑은 경찰서에 갖다줘야지! 당연한거 아니야!) (Hãy nộp chiếc ví đã nhặt được trên đường vào đồn cảnh sát nhé! Đương nhiên mà đúng không!)

当あたり前まえ

Naturally / Commonly / That’s obvious.

Again, basically “当あたり前まえ” and “当然とうぜん” has been used as the same meaning. However, “当然とうぜん” is used as a little bit formal and stronger and the usage of them is different. You would be able to say “当然とうぜん、私わたしは怒おこる。(I definitely get angry.)”, however, you wouldn’t be able to say “当あたり前まえ、私わたしは怒おこる。” which is wrong. If you want to use 当あたり前まえ in this case, you would say “私わたしが怒おこるのは当あたり前まえだ。”. And “当然とうぜん、今日きょうは僕ぼくのおごりだよ。(It’s only natural that I’ll treat you today.)” is correct, “当あたり前まえ、今日きょうは僕ぼくのおごりだよ。” is wrong. Lastly, “当然とうぜんだよ！(That’s totally obvious!)” sounds a little bit stronger than “当あたり前まえだよ！(That’s obvious!)”.

Example

えっ？ラーメンとごはんの組くみ合あわせ？俺おれの実家じっかなら当あたり前まえだけどー・・・ (What? A consignation of ramen and rice? which comb is only natural in my parents’ house.) (哎，但是在我家把白饭和拉麵搭配在一起是很理所当然的事情…) (아~ 라면과 밥의 조합은 우리집이라면 당연한 거지만…) (Ớ, trộn cơm kết hợp với mỳ, ở nhà tớ đó là chuyện đương nhiên nhưng…)

試験前しけんまえなのに当あたり前まえのように毎日まいにち１２時間位寝じかんくらいねてるよね？試験しけん、大丈夫だいじょうぶなの？ (You’ve been sleeping about 12 hours every day even before the exam like it’s common, haven’t you? Did you prepared for it?) (明明要考试了，你却像理所当然的每天睡12个小时，你确定你考试没问题？) (시험 전인데 당연하듯 매일 12 시간 씩 자고있지? 시험 괜찮은거야?) (Trước kỳ thi mà mày cứ ngủ một ngày 12 tiếng như đúng rồi ý nhỉ? Kỳ thi có ổn không đấy?)

いやいや、二日前ふつかまえは一昨日おとといって当あたり前まえじゃね？ (Not really. Isn’t it obvious that 2 days ago is the day before yesterday?) (不对不对，两天前不是理所当然地就叫做前天吗？) (아니, 이틀 전은 그저께인거 당연하지 않아?) (Không không, hai ngày trước không thể đương nhiên là ngày hôm kia được.)