Explanation
In place of; instead of; as a substitute for.
Formation
Verb-casual + かわりに, い-Adjective + かわりに, な-Adjective + だかわりに, Noun + だかわりに
Detailed explanation
The ～かわりに grammar point is used to express doing something in place of or as a substitute for something else. It can be translated as 'instead of', 'in place of', or 'as a substitute for' in English. The formation differs depending on whether it is used with a verb, い-adjective, な-adjective, or noun.
Examples
Eiga wo miru kawari ni, hon wo yonda.
Instead of watching a movie, I read a book.
Osake wo nomu kawari ni, mizu wo nonde kudasai.
Please drink water instead of alcohol.
Inu no kawari ni, neko wo kaitai desu.
I want to keep a cat instead of a dog.
Densha wo tsukawanai kawari ni, jitensha de iku koto ni shimashita.
I decided to go by bicycle instead of using the train.
Practice
Grammar content sourced from hanabira.org.