"On the other hand"

Question

I've always used "On the other hand" by saying "por una otra parte" or "por un otro lado" but I saw it used by saying "en cambio" Does the "cambio" mean "change"? like "but changing thoughts on the subject" or "changing theories"?

Answer 1

"por otro lado" (without "un")

"por otra parte" (without "una")

Answer 2

It can still be 'on the other hand' but in the sense of 'by way of contrast'

I don´t know about the changing theories (though it´s possible) but I´ve seen it as describing at least somewhat contrasting, if not outright opposite, characteristics.

Mi madre tenía mucha paciencia. Mi padre en cambio no tenía nada de esa.

I suppose that sense is a bit like ´´por lo contrario´´ but I don´t know the subtleties that would govern ones use over the other.

Answer 3

Kyle don't forget that 'otro/a' shouldn't be immediately preceded by 'uno/a' - even if you want to say 'another' just 'otro/a' will do it.

So you have a couple options for 'on the other hand':

Por otro lado

por otra parte

As far as 'en cambio' goes, I guess in certain contexts you could translate it as 'on the other hand' although the most common translation would probably be 'instead'.