Uki Uki NihonGO! Lesson 37 – から & ので

Today’s focus is から and ので. In English, から can be translated as because, therefore, so, among others. It expresses the cause-and-effect relationship of things.

Be careful with phrasing a から sentence! In English, you can either say "I’m hungry because I didn’t eat all day." Or "Because I didn’t eat all day, I’m hungry." But in Japanese, as a rule, you need to say the reason first, and then what happened next.

Remember this rule: Reasonから, Result.

Which one is correct to say "I didn’t go out this weekend because it rained"?

週末は出かけなかったから、雨が降った。

週末は雨だったから、出かけなかった。

The second sentence is correct. The first one says "I didn’t go out this weekend, so the whole world rained mourning the lack of my noble presence." That’s pretty obnoxious, isn’t it? Make sure you say the reason first with から、then state the result.

Here are a few more examples.

安くてサービスがいいから、あのレストランにしょっちゅう行きます。(Yasukute saabisu ga ii kara, ano resutoran ni shocchuu ikimasu.)

I go to that restaurant all the time because it’s inexpensive and has good service.

親友は彼女と別れたばかりだから、最近すごく落ち込んでいる。(Shin-yuu wa kanojo to wakareta bakari dakara, saikin sugoku ochikonde iru.)

My best friend has been feeling quite down lately because he just broke up with his girlfriend.

ボバフェットはかっこいいから、スターウォーズのキャラクターの中で一番好き。(Boba fetto wa kakkoii kara, sutaa woozu no kyarakutaa no naka de ichiban suki.)

My favorite Star Wars character is Boba Fett because he’s so cool-looking.

3日徹夜したから、もうクタクタです。(Mikka tetsuya shita kara, mou kutakuta desu.)

I’ve been working without sleep for three days so I’ve been feeling exhausted.

You can also use ので instead of から. ので sounds more formal, so use it in less casual situations like when you’re talking to your teacher, boss, client, etc.

電車が遅れたので、遅刻してしまってすみませんでした。(Densha ga okureta node, chikoku shite shimatte sumimasen deshita.)

I am very sorry for arriving late because the train was delayed.

会議の資料を添付致しましたので、ご覧ください。(Kaigi no shiryou o tenpu itashimashita node, goran kudasai.)

I have prepared the documents for the meeting, so please kindly view the material.

Don’t forget the rule: Reasonから、result.