Is there any difference between 意外に and 意外と?


I hear 意外に and 意外と used frequently to mean "more so than I thought." They seem
to be interchangeable. Example:

> 意外と簡単でした = Easier than I thought

Are they both grammatically correct? Is there a difference in nuance or usage
using ni vs to? I don't recall ever hearing them used with a present or future
tense verb. Can you think of an example where they might be used outside of
past tense?




Take a look at the blog post on <http://d.hatena.ne.jp/hiiragi-june/20080528>

To summarize:

> 意外に feels more like written Japanese and 意外と is more colloquial. They both
> grammatically correct and they **both have the same meaning**. Although 意外に
> feels more traditional.

The rest of the blog post is about history of dictionaries and some
dictionaries actually don't even talk about the difference between these two.

According to
<http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/10029/m0u/%E6%84%8F%E5%A4%96/>

> [補説]現在では「意外に」と同様、「意外と知られていない事実」のように「意外と」の形も用いられる。

Which means

> Currently, in the same way as「意外に」, 「意外と」has been used like 「意外と知られていない事実」

So to answer your question, yes they are pretty much interchangeable. Note
that に and と are generally not always interchangeable, but in this special
case it is.

Also note that the meaning of 「意外に」and 「意外と」has more to do with something not
matching one's expectations and expressing one's surprise, so it is more
accurate to translate it as "unexpectedly", rather than "more so than I
thought", although in some cases it means "more so than I thought". I know I'm
being nit-picky here but just want to make sure you understood it right.




Take a look at the blog post on <http://d.hatena.ne.jp/hiiragi-june/20080528>

To summarize:

> 意外に feels more like written Japanese and 意外と is more colloquial. They both
> grammatically correct and they **both have the same meaning**. Although 意外に
> feels more traditional.

The rest of the blog post is about history of dictionaries and some
dictionaries actually don't even talk about the difference between these two.

According to
<http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/10029/m0u/%E6%84%8F%E5%A4%96/>

> [補説]現在では「意外に」と同様、「意外と知られていない事実」のように「意外と」の形も用いられる。

Which means

> Currently, in the same way as「意外に」, 「意外と」has been used like 「意外と知られていない事実」

So to answer your question, yes they are pretty much interchangeable. Note
that に and と are generally not always interchangeable, but in this special
case it is.

Also note that the meaning of 「意外に」and 「意外と」has more to do with something not
matching one's expectations and expressing one's surprise, so it is more
accurate to translate it as "unexpectedly", rather than "more so than I
thought", although in some cases it means "more so than I thought". I know I'm
being nit-picky here but just want to make sure you understood it right.

