N4 トピック
L9: Reason Making
Reason Making
In this Topic, we’re going to learn about し, which is used to give reasons, and でできる, which is used to describe what something is made from. We will also compare some of the different ways we now know to express reasons, and revisit how common verbs can take on different meanings depending on how they are used.
このトピックに出てくる文法
し～し
And, Giving reasons
Like て, し is a conjunction particle. This means that it is used for linking the (A) and (B) parts of a sentence, and describing that link in some way. The 'description' that し will highlight is 'reasons'. Regularly it is translated simply as 'and'.
し may be connected to the end of almost any word, but will require a だ before it when it comes after nouns or な-Adjectives. し will follow every 'reason' that is being listed in a sentence. However, the last し may be replaced with から or ので, before the 'result' is stated.
Using し will indicate that each 'reason' being listed is of equal weight/importance. Because of this, it would not be appropriate to use in sentences where one of the reasons clearly far outweighs everything else.
Fun Fact
In all of its uses, し indicates things that are 矛盾無く共存する, which basically means 'things that coexist, without contradicting each other'. This is the primary reason why each thing listed must be of equal importance (in terms of the overall story that the speaker is trying to convey).
でできる・からできる
Made of, Made from, Produced from, Come from
でできる, or からできる are two structures that share very similar meanings. Basically, they both mean '(B) was made from/out of (A)'. These constructions highlight the 'ingredients', or 'materials' that something is/was made out of. Let's look at some examples.
から and で are both case marking particles in this grammar point, and while they express much the same thing when translated into English, there is a slight nuance difference. These differences are as follows:
から - Literally 'prepared from'. Tends to be used more frequently when the material is not obvious at first glance. May also put focus on the ingredients/materials before there was any alteration.
で - Literally 'prepared with'. Tends to be used more frequently when the materials are more obvious.
Despite this, recent generations use で in most situations, regardless of if the material is visible at first glance or not. As a result, でできる and からできる are almost indistinguishable in modern Japanese.
Caution
There is also a small nuance difference between できる, and できている, when used as part of this construction. できる is usually used when talking about something broadly 'everything in category (B) is made from (A)', while できている is used more frequently when examining a specific item 'this particular (B) is made from (A)'. Like the difference between で and から though, they are largely interchangeable.
詳細
We now know quite a few ways to give reasons in Japanese, and we also keep learning how simple words like できる ‘can do’ have multiple uses. Let’s explore both of these things further.
Reasonable
し has given us another way to give reasons in Japanese. We already know から, ので, and て, so how does it differ? Let’s compare!
し is all about giving equally weighted reasons, often listing them out. But it can also be used simply on its own. When this is done, it is strongly implying there are more reasons of equal value which are unstated. In this way, し can also be used to soften explanations, implying there is a lot going on without actually forcing it all upon the listener.
Unlike し’s implication of many reasons and listing ability, から, ので, and て are all about direct connections. Despite this, they still all have different nuances. Let’s revisit them below.
から is about a clear relationship. ‘Since (A), (B)’. This is the most straightforward way to give a reason.
ので (or んで) is all about contextual reasoning, very often used to explain things or provide context. ‘Being that (A), (B)’. ので can sound more objective and explanatory.
Lastly, て is multifaceted. As we know, it is a neutral connector of words and sentences, so the nuance will rely on the context. When used for giving reasons, it still operates with the fundamental meaning of (B) happening under the condition of (A), in the pattern (A)て(B). It tells us ‘As (A) occurred, (B)’.
As we can see, these are all in contrast to し, which focuses on multiple reasons (stated or otherwise) which are of equal importance.
Make It from That? Can Do!
By this point we have seen many ‘normal’ words that have multiple uses, some of which are not necessarily intuitive. For example, we have seen する being used not just to mean ‘do’ but also to talk about prices, smells, and decisions.
In much the same way, we have just learned how できる can be used not only to talk about ability but also to say something is ‘made (from something)’.
At first this sort of thing can feel unintuitive and a little unwelcome. As we learn more and more Japanese, we will find that this sort of thing becomes quite common. Even at advanced levels, we will still be learning new ways to use common words. Over time, as the words become natural to us, we’ll find the process of connecting many meanings of simple words becomes easier and easier!