Structure
Verb + ことから
[い]Adjective + ことから
[な]Adjective + な + ことから
Noun + の + ことから
Details
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Standard
使用域
一般
About ことから
In order to come to a logical conclusion about something in Japanese, sometimes strong expressions like ことから will be used. This is a combination of the noun こと, and the case marking particle から. ことから literally means 'from that which is (A), (B)', but is generally simply translated as 'from the fact that (A), (B)'.
ことから may be connected to the end of any phrase, so long as the word before it is in its attributive form.
ことから may be connected to the end of any phrase, so long as the word before it is in its attributive form.
- こんな早い時間に妻が寝ていることから、今日は色々と大変だったと気づいた。From the fact that my wife is sleeping at such an early time, I noticed that she was busy with many things today.
- 家の家具が全部新しいことから、彼はここに引っ越してきたばかりだと分かった。From the fact that all his furniture is new, I realized that he has just moved here.
- 子供が静かなことから、何か悪いことをしていると分かった。From the fact that my kids were quiet, I knew that they were doing something bad.
- これらのことからイベントを中止することに決めました。From these facts, we have decided to cancel the event.
Caution
There is a difference between ことから 'from the fact that' and ことだから 'because'. In ことだから, から is a conjunction particle that links the (A) and (B) parts of a sentence. However, in ことから, から is a case marking particle, meaning that it is highlighting the subject.- コーヒーが冷たいことから、コーヒーが淹れられたのは結構前だと分かる。From the fact that the coffee is cold, you can tell that it was poured quite a while ago.
- コーヒーが冷たいことだから、コーヒーが淹れられたのは結構前だと分かる。Since the coffee is cold, you can tell that it was poured quite a while ago.
Synonyms
Examples
いい先生から数学を学んだことから、私も数学の先生になりたい。
From the fact that I learned math from a good teacher, I too want to be a math teacher.
野球がとても上手なことから、将来は有名になりそうだ。
From the fact that he is really good at baseball, it seems like he will be famous one day.
フィルが一生懸命文法を勉強し始めたことから、彼が日本語の能力を高めようと思っていることに気がついた。
From the fact that Phil began intensely studying grammar, I realized that he was set on improving his Japanese language ability.
この城の城壁は白い鳥の翼のように見えることから、白鳥城と呼ばれるようになった。
From the fact that this castle's walls look like a white bird's wings, it has come to be called 'white bird castle'.
この靴は歩いてもあまり音がしないことから、英語でスニーカーと呼ばれている。「トゥ スニーク」というのは日本語で忍び寄るということです。
From the fact that these shoes produce little sound, they are called 'sneakers' in english. 'To sneak' is 'しのびよる' in Japanese.
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ことから – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (2 in total)
Johnathan-Weir
According to this video
This grammar is somewhat stiff. Should the 硬 symbol be added to it?
Daru
硬 is mostly used when it’s academic grammar, or stuff you would only find in literature or really old stuff. ことから can be found in spoken Japanese, where you never find 硬 grammar.
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