You're excitedly talking about your trip to Kyoto, and you suddenly remember a fantastic coffee shop nearby, but you don't want to break the main conversation flow. What do you do?

This is where「ちなみに」(chinami ni) shines! 🌟

It's a super useful adverb that Japanese people use constantly to add a supplementary piece of information related to the current topic. It's just like how we say "by the way..." or "incidentally..."

🤔 How to use it?

Simply place ちなみに before the information you want to add. It's that easy!

Example 1: In a casual conversation

「昨日、京都に行ってきたんだ。すごく良かったよ！ちなみに、清水寺の近くに新しい抹茶カフェができてて、めちゃくちゃ美味しかった！」 (I went to Kyoto yesterday. It was great! By the way, there's a new matcha cafe near Kiyomizu-dera, and it was incredibly delicious!)

👉 See? You shared about your trip and also managed to recommend a cool spot at the same time.

Example 2: In a work setting

「このデータですが、来週月曜までにお願いします。ちなみに、明日は山田さんがお休みです。」 (About this data, please have it ready by next Monday. By the way, Mr. Yamada will be off tomorrow.)

👉 You provide the main information, along with a related note to help the other person work more effectively.

💡 The Key Difference

Many learners confuse ちなみに with ところで (by the way, speaking of which). But they are completely different!

• ちなみに (chinami ni): Adds information that is related to the current topic.
• ところで (tokoro de): Completely changes the subject to something unrelated.

❌ Wrong: 「昨日、京都に行ったんだ。ところで、清水寺の近くのカフェが美味しかったよ」 (This sounds very strange because the cafe is still related to Kyoto).

Mastering ちなみに will make your conversations flow more naturally and charmingly! 😉