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困ったことに (こまったことに) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
expression
the trouble is that ... ; unfortunately ; annoyingly
Fixed phrase used at the beginning of a sentence to introduce an unfortunate or problematic situation. Often followed by an explanation of the difficulty.
See also: 困った事
Unfortunately, he hasn't arrived yet.
Written forms 困こま ったことに
Standard kanji-kana spelling for this fixed expression.
困こま った 事こと に
Variant with 事 in kanji; less common but still encountered.
Kanji 困 quandary, become distressed, annoyed Etymology From the past tense of 困る (to be troubled) + ことに (adverbial form of 事, 'thing'), literally 'as for the troubled thing'. The expression grammaticalized into a fixed phrase meaning 'the trouble is that...'.