Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 5/20

せいで

Because of, Due to, Blame

Can express blame or fault, で can be omitted at the end of a sentence

Structure

Verb + せいで
［い］Adjective + せいで
［な］Adjective + な + せいで
Noun + の + せいで

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About せいで

Although written almost exclusively in hiragana, せい is a noun that may be better understood from its kanji, 所為(せい), meaning 'doings'. せい is used to convey negative results that occurred due to the behavior or actions of another person/thing. Because of this, common translations of せい are 'fault', 'due to', or 'because of'.
As せい is a noun, it may be used after the attributive form of any other word. The case marking particle で will also regularly be seen after せい, especially when conveying the (B) result that occurred 'with' or 'by means of' those 'doings'.
  • 昨日(きのう)夜(よる)遅(おそ)くまで起(お)きていたせいで寝坊(ねぼう)した。
    Because I stayed up late last night, I overslept today.
  • 外(そと)が寒(さむ)いせいで風邪(かぜ)を引(ひ)いた。
    Because it is chilly outside, I caught a cold.
  • 犬(いぬ)の手術(しゅじゅつ)の事(こと)が心配(しんぱい)なせいで今日(きょう)は寝(ね)れなさそう。
    Due to me being worried about my dog's surgery, it doesn't seem like I am going to be able to sleep.
  • 大雪(おおゆき)のせいで道(みち)が渋滞(じゅうたい)してる。
    Because of the heavy snow, the road is congested.
Fun Fact
The 'doings' that 所為(せい) represents is similar to the negative 'doings' that is used in English to place blame. This can be seen in phrases such as 'it was the weather's doings', or 'ah, so the missing cookies were your doings!'
  • 遅刻(ちこく)したのは渋滞(じゅうたい)のせいだ！
    Me being late is the traffic's doing!
  • 台風(たいふう)のせいでまた予定(よてい)が変(か)わったよ。
    Due to the typhoon's doings, my plans have changed again.

Examples

  • トムは暑(あつ)さのせいで気(き)を失(うしな)った。

    Tom passed out because of the heat.

  • トムがお皿(さら)を割(わ)ってしまったせいで、私(わたし)は怪我(けが)をしてしまった。

    I got injured because Tom broke a plate.

  • 気分(きぶん)が悪(わる)くなったせいで、仕事(しごと)を休(やす)んでしまった。

    Because I wasn't feeling well, I took the day off.

  • 雨(あめ)のせいでせっかくの遠足(えんそく)が中止(ちゅうし)になってしまった。

    The long awaited trip was cancelled because of the rain.

  • 湿気(しっき)のせいでカビがひどい。

    The mold is out of control because of the humidity.

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せいで – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • narfi

    narfi

    About 2 years ago

    Isn’t the grammar description missing the case where せい is followed by だ/です? Apparently, the particle で is not allowed in that case, whereas the grammar summary indicate that it is required there:

    ✗ ~せいででしょう。
    ○~せいでしょう。

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    About 2 years ago

    @narfi
    Hey

    It is not allowed here, because で in せいで is てform of a noun/なadjective, and the てform is used to connect parts of the sentence (clauses). When せい is used at the end of the sentence (so-called predicate position), there is no other part that will be joined so てform is not needed and as with any other noun/なadjective だ・です・and so on follow.

    I will fix the structure section so it will be more clear

    Cheers,
    I hope it helps!

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