のに and くせに

のに and くせに mean the same thing, 'even though', 'despite', and will be used in sentences of criticism and complaint.

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のに is made up of two particles; の which nominalizes what is indicated in the first part of the sentence, and に which represents a destination, to reach what has been said.

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こいつは忙がしいのに、ゲームをしている。

Koitsu wa isogashii noni, geemu o shiteiru.

Despite the fact he is busy, he plays video games.

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In this sentence, we are criticizing the fact that he is playing video games when he should be busy working or doing what he is supposed to be doing. We could have used けど in this sentence, but けど wouldn't convey the same feeling as のに in that case. のに will really bring out this feeling of criticism or complaint.

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If we dissect this sentence, こいつは忙がしい is the first part of the sentence, meaning 'he is busy'. の will nominalize the previous sentence. こいつは忙がしいの would mean 'the fact that he is busy'. The particle に is the destination that leads to what is indicated in the second part of the sentence, which we can translate to 'leads to'. So, こいつは忙がしいのに will mean something like 'the fact that he has a lot to do has led to...' 

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ゲームをしている indicates the current situation. In this case, this situation is an illogical or unexpected result, due to the use of のに; he is busy, but then again, he is playing video games. That is why のに is used in sentences of criticism or complaint.

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However, のに, is what comes after is a direct action aimed at reaching the destination stated in the first part of the sentence, then the meaning of のに becomes 'for the purpose of', 'in order to'.

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会社に行くのにバスと地下鉄に乗ります。

Kaisha ni iku noni basu to chikatetsu ni norimasu.

In order to go to the company, I take the bus and subway.

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のに to mean 'even if'

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のに will indicate something has happened despite another event. As のに is a connective particle, it can follow verbs, adjectives and nouns. な adjectives and nouns that precede のに must take な.

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Verb + のに

Adjective い + のに

Adjective な + のに

Noun + なのに

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The second sentence must not correlate with what was said at the beginning.

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急いでいるのに、バスが来なかった。

Isoideiru noni, basu ga konakatta.

Even though I hurried, the bus didn't arrive.

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In this sentence, you are criticizing the fact that even though you hurried to not be late to work, the bus didn't arrive; so, you were late to work. The event happening in the second clause is unexpected. If you hurried, you should have made it in time, but because the bus didn't arrive, you were still late.

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曲自体はけっこうシンプルなのにここまでノスタルジー感じさせるセンスすごい。

Kyoku jidai wa kekkou shinpuruna noni koko made nosutarujii kanji saseru sensu sugoi.

The song itself is pretty simple, but the sense of nostalgia is amazing.

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Here, even though the song is simple, it is really effective in conveying a sense of nostalgia.

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It is possible to omit the second part of the sentence when it is obvious or if you prefer not to say it directly.

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金持ちだったらいいのに。

Kanemochi dattara ii noni.

It would be great if I was rich.

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In this context, you are making a complaint that you do not have money and that you wish you were rich.

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のに to indicate a purpose

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のに can also indicate a purpose. It has the same use as we have seen before with 'even if'; what changes is the relationship between what was said in the first sentence, and the result indicated in the second part.

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Verb (dictionary form) + のに

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When のに means a purpose, the second part of the sentence indicates something that is necessary for the first part of the sentence to happen.

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宿題をするのに、3時間がかかる。

Shukudai o suru noni, 3 jikan ga kakaru.

To do homework takes 3 hours.

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Here, in order to do homework, you need 3 hours. In this case, the second part of the sentence is not contrary to the first part; thus, のに in this sentence indicates a purpose and not a criticism.

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In Japanese, you need to pay attention to the real meaning of sentences, as a lot of grammatical constructions can have different usage and also, they can be contrary to each other.

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お金持ちになるノウハウを知りたかったのに、和平さんは幸せになる生き方を教えてくれた。

Okanemochi ni naru nouhau o shiritakatta noni, Wahei-san wa shiawase ni naru ikikata o oshiete kureta.

Even though I wanted to know how to become rich, Mr. Wahei taught me how to live a happy life.

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In this sentence, you don't necessarily make any criticism, but you say that despite the fact you wanted to learn how to become rich, you learned something else instead.

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Other examples:

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約束をしたのに、お父さんは帰えなかった。

Yakusoku o shita noni, otousan wa kaenakatta.

Even though he promised, Father didn't come back home.

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ダイエットをしたのに、太りました。

Daietto o shita noni, futorimashita.

Even though I dieted, I gained weight.

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くせに

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The expression くせに means the same thing as のに, 'despite', 'even though', and it is also used to make criticism or complaint. The difference is that くせに is used in sentences with negative connotations. It is often used in sentences indicating a certain irony.

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くせ, in its kanji form 癖, means 'habit' or 'tendency' and it has a negative connotation 'bad habit'. This is why we use it in negative sentences. The language is stronger than のに.

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Verb + くせに

Adjective い + くせに

Adjective な + くせに

Noun + の + くせに

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飲む ➝ 飲むくせに
若い ➝ 若いくせに
便利 ➝ 便利なくせに
犬 ➝ 犬のくせに

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くせに will be used to make complaints or criticism in a negative way.

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さっき寝るって言ってたくせにまだ起きてるの？

Sakki nerutte itteta kuse ni mada okiteru no?

Even though you said you would go to bed early, you are still awake?

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Here, I am making a criticism on the fact that even though you promised to go to bed early, you are still awake.

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Another common use of くせに is to accuse or ridicule, as well as criticizing someone's behavior or actions. It demonstrates contempt or dissatisfaction.

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彼は太っているくせに声が細い。

Kare wa futotteiru kuse ni koe ga hosoi.

He is fat, yet his voice is small.

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弱いくせに強がりを言う。

Yowai kuse ni tsuyogari o iu.

Despite being weak, he pretends to be strong in what he says.

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As くせに is used to criticize people's behavior or actions, it cannot be used for other things than people, animals or other entities. Thus, this sentence will be wrong:

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12月のくせに暑い。

Juunigatsu no kuse ni atsui.

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We cannot attribute negative behaviors to a month of the year. In this case, のに will be used instead. It will demonstrate a certain complaint that even though it is December, it is hot.

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くせして

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くせして will be used in more derogatory and more critical contexts. に can be replaced by して, and it expresses a more empathic in nature, thus being more derogatory.

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お前の力が強いくせして、まだ弱い。

Omae no chikara ga tsuyoi kuse shite, mada yowai.

Even though your powers are strong, you're still weak.

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せいで

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せいで is another term we will find in sentences with negative connotations. せい means 'fault', so the expression せいで will mean 'because of' as in it is something's or someone's fault that something happened. It is used to blame something or someone for a negative consequence or event that happened.

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Verb + せいで

Adjective い + せいで

Adjective な + せいで

Noun + の + せいで

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ジェレミのせいで、チームは負けてしまった。

Jeremi no sei de, chiimu wa maketeshimatta.

It is Jeremy's fault if our team lost.

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〜てしまう is a very common grammatical construction used with せいでto indicate that the result was not what was expected. We will see this construction later on.

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The particle で in せいで means 'due to', so 'due to the fault of...'. せいで is similar to other constructions meaning 'because', but it will bring a negative connotation to the sentence.

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The contrary expression of せいで is おかげで, which means 'thanks to'.

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あなたのおかげで、勝った！

Anata no okage de, katta!

Thanks to you, we won!