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How should I decide to choose either「万が一の場合」vs「念のために」?

「万が一」 , by itself, cannot directly substituted for 「念のために」, right? But, adding
「の場合」 makes 「万が一の場合」and「念のために」 pretty much the same?
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2015-05-27T14:27:31.280
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2015-05-27T15:44:24.947
2015-05-27T14:53:22.103
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question
word-choice
「万が一の場合」vs「念のために」?
Definitely not the same. While a dictionary might tell you they both translate
to "just in case", 念のため is the more general here. 万が一 has a negative
connotation. It's denoting something bad might or will happen. One of the
examples [here](http://www.japandict.com/%E4%B8%87%E3%81%8C%E4%B8%80) shows it
translated as "in the worst case scenario". Their usage is also quite
different.

Top level definitions would look like:  
念のため: Just to be sure  
万が一: In case something bad happens

The numerous examples
[here](http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E4%B8%87%E3%81%8C%E4%B8%80)
don't make it painfully obvious, but they should help.
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2015-05-27T15:38:19.550
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2015-05-27T15:38:19.550
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answer
In meaning, the following can be said:

1.「[念]{ねん}のために」 **≠** 「[万]{まん}が[一]{いち}の[場合]{ばあい}」

2.「念のために」 **≒** 「万が一の場合に[備]{そな}えて」

> 「 **念のために** + (verb phrase)」 means "to (verb phrase) **_beforehand_** just
> in case something happens on an off chance."

But

> 「 **万が一の場合** + (verb phrase)」 means "to (verb phrase) **_in response_** in
> case something happens on an off chance"

That is the huge difference; Thus, I stated #1.

In order to use 「万が一の場合」 to describe what to do in advance, one needs to add
「に備えて」(= in preparation for)、「のために」(= for), etc. to it. This is what I meant
to say in #2.
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2015-05-27T15:44:24.947
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2015-05-27T15:44:24.947
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answer