Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 4: 7/21

(わけ)

For that reason, No wonder, As you'd expect, Naturally, Thus, This is why

Structure

Verb + (という) + わけ
[い]Adjective + (という) + わけ
[な]Adjective + (1) + わけ
Noun + (1) + わけ

(1) という

Details

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About わけだ

One of the most misunderstood words in Japanese is (わけ). Of the many ways it can be translated, the most common are 'reason', 'cause', 'meaning', or 'conclusion'. Despite this, it may be beneficial to consider it almost identical to an equally versatile English word 'so'.

In all of its uses, わけ simply highlights the plain existence/determination of something in the same way that 'so' does in English. This can be seen in its most basic form in わけだ. A combination of わけ and the auxiliary verb .

わけだ will be used at the end of sentences, and is sometimes preceded by という. This use is often translated as 'for the reason of (A)', 'no wonder its (A)', or 'its (A), as you'd expect'. Realistically though, it just means 'it is so that it's (A)', or 'so it's (A)'.

Due to わけ being a noun, it will need to follow the attributive form of whatever word comes before it. As we can see 'so' and わけ have an extremely close pattern of nuances, ranging from 'because', all the way through to simple emphasis (like with 'naturally', and 'as you'd expect').

わけ may also be used in questions, implying that the speaker is trying to determine something that they have heard. わけだね 'so its (A) right?', and わけですか 'so is it that (A)?' are good examples of this.


Examples

--:--

    (ゆき)()っていた。(さむ)(わけ)

    It snowed. This is why it is cold.

    また(わす)れたの?それで先生(せんせい)(しか)られた(わけ)

    You forgot again? No wonder you were scolded by the teacher.

    夜更(よふ)かししてばかりいるの?それじゃあ遅刻(ちこく)する(わけ)

    Why do you keep staying up late? No wonder you are always late.

    (かね)無駄(むだ)使(つか)っている。貯金(ちょきん)がない(わけ)です

    You waste your money. No wonder you have no savings.

    彼女(かのじょ)医者(いしゃ)になりたいから、医学(いがく)勉強(べんきょう)をする(わけ)

    Since she wants to be a doctor, this is why she is studying in the medical field.
    (as you'd expect)

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わけだ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (7 in total)

  • Ambo100

    Ambo100

    There’s a six part series of videos on 訳 covering most of the uses and expressions it’s used in. The first video is for わけだ

  • Daru

    Daru

    Resources have been fixed.
    Thank you for pointing it out!

  • ddavo

    ddavo

    This grammar point is also available on まるごと中級1, p. 200

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