Today, we’re going to talk about わけだ (wake da). Previously, we talked about how to use わけだ when you realize something, but today, we’ll learn how to use it to describe a situation or a conclusion you’ve reached.
You can find the previous lecture here, but you don’t need to watch it in order to understand this lesson.
Using わけだ to Describe a Situation
You can use わけだ with から (kara) or ので (no de) to describe a result or current situation caused by something else.
<reason>から、 <result>わけだ。
<reason> kara, <result> wake da.
It is <result> because <reason>.
<verb> + わけだ
行くわけだ
Iku wake da
For that reason/ That is why I go.
<adjective> + わけだ
<na-adjective > + なわけだ
可愛いわけだ
Kawaii wake da
It makes sense/ For that reason, it’s cute.
人気なわけだ
Ninki na wake da
It makes sense it’s popular.
<noun> + わけだ
天才のわけだ
Tensai no wake da
For that reason, he/she’s a genius.
財布をなくしたから、払えないわけです。
Saifu wo nakushita kara, haraenai wake desu.
Because I lost my wallet, it means I cannot pay.
Of course, you can say the above sentence without using わけだ.
財布をなくしたから、払えない。
Saifu wo nakushita kara, haraenai.
I can’t pay because I lost my wallet.
So how is using わけだ different from just using から?
When you use わけだ, you put emphasis on the resulting situation. When you use から or ので, you put emphasis on the reason.
If you really want to emphasize the reason, you can rearrange the sentence and use からです at the end.
<result>のは<reason>からです。
<result> no wa <reason> kara desu.
払えないのは財布をなくしたからです。
Haraenai no wa saifu wo nakushita kara desu.
The reason I can’t pay is because I lost my wallet.
ピカチュウは可愛いから、好き。
Pikachuu wa kawaii kara, suki.
ピカチュウが好きのは可愛いからです。
Pikachuu ga suki no wa kawaii kara desu.
The reason I like Pikachu is because he’s cute.
骨折したので、もう走れないわけです。
Kossetsu shita no de, mou hashirenai wake desu.
Because I broke a bone, it means (the result is…) I can’t run anymore.
As I said, you can omit the わけです, and the meaning stays the same, but the emphasis is now on the fact that you broke your bone.
骨折したので、もう走れません。
Kossetsu shita no de, mou hashiremasen.
Because I broke my bone, I cannot run anymore.
もう走れないのは骨折したからです。
Mou hashirenai no wa kossetsu shita kara desu.
The reason why I can’t run anymore is because I broke a bone.
Using て with わけだ
You can also use the て (te) form to show cause and effect. Normally, you use て to explain one thing happenning after another, but you can use it for cause and effect in certain conditions.
The first is when the reason is an illness.
風邪を引いて、体調が悪いです。
Kaze wo hiite, taichou ga warui desu.
Because I caught a cold, I don’t feel well.
The second is when the reason is a natural disaster.
地震があって、皿が割れました。
Jishin ga atte, sara ga waremashita.
Because there was an earthquake, the plates broke.
Lastly, you can use て for cause and effect when the reason is a feeling.
嬉しくて、泣きました。
Ureshikute, nakimashita.
I cried because I was happy.
人身事故があって、遅れたわけです。
Jinshin jiko ga atte, okureta wake desu.
Because there was a fatal accident, I was late.
Like we did earlier, you can omit the わけです or rearrange the sentence so the result comes first.
人身事故があって、遅れました。
Jinshin jiko ga atte, okuremashita.
Because there was a fatal accident, I was late.
遅れたのは、人身事故があったからです。
Okureta no wa, jinshin jiko ga atta kara desu.
The reason I was late is because there was a fatal accident.
Using わけだ to Make a Conclusion
Apart from using わけだ to explain a situation, you can also use it when you make a conclusion.
<conclusion>わけだ。
<conclusion> wake da.
I conclude that…
10％オフなので、100円安くなるわけです。
Juppaa ofu nano de, hyaku-en yasuku naru wake desu.
Because it is 10% off, it means it’ll be 100 yen cheaper.
車でも一時間かかるから、電車で来ても同じわけだ。
Kuruma de mo ichi jikan kakaru kara, densha de kite mo onaji wake da.
Even by car it takes one hour, so it’s the same if you come by train.
明日飲み会を開きます。
Ashita nomikai wo hirakimasu.
We’re going to hold a drinking party tomorrow.
明日はちょっと忙しいんです。
Ashita wa chotto isogashiin desu.
I’m a little busy tomorrow.
来れないわけですね。
Korenai wake desu ne.
Which means/ So basically, you can’t come, right?
* んです is short for のです, which you use when you explain something. You can learn about it in this video.
In this example, this listener is making a conclusion from what the speaker says.
You can use わけ without the です, but it sounds harsh and is rude, so you won’t often hear it used like that except on TV or in arguments.
これないわけ？
Korenai wake?
So you can’t come?
これないわけだね。
Korenai wake da ne.
Which means/ I take it that you can’t come.
Alternatively, you can use ってこと(tte koto), which means the same thing but sounds more friendly.
じゃあ、来れないってこと？
Jaa, korenaitte koto?
So you mean you can’t come?
Example Sentences
ひらがなとカタカナだけ読めます。
Hiragana to katakana dake yomemasu.
I can only read hiragana and katakana.
漢字が読めないわけですね。
Kanji ga yomenai wake desu ne.
Which means you can’t read kanji, right?
運転免許を持ってません。
Unten menkyo wo mottemasen.
I don’t have a driver’s license.
運転できないわけですね。
Unten dekinai wake desu ne.
In other words, you can’t drive, right?
かっこいい車ですね。
Kakkoii kuruma desu ne.
That’s a cool car.
昨日買ったんです。まぁ、まだ免許はありませんけど。
Kinou kattan desu. Maa, mada menkyo wa arimasen kedo.
I just bought it yesterday. Well, I don’t have a license yet, though.
運転できないわけですか。
Unten dekinai wake desu ka.
So you mean you can’t drive?
Using わけ without です
As I mentioned earlier, you can use わけ without です or だ, but it sounds harsh and is rude. You will still hear it sometimes, usually when someone is angry. For instance, you can use it if you’re in an argument or if you’re scolding someone.
このままでいいわけ？
Kono mama de ii wake?
You’re okay leaving it like this?
無理だってわけ？
Muri datte wake?
Are you trying to say it’s impossible?
Because it’s rude to use わけ without です or だ, be careful not to do it by accident.
Polite:
何が言いたいんですか？
Nani ga iitain desu ka?
What did you want to say?
Harsh:
何が言いたいわけ？
Nani ga iitai wake?
What are you trying to say?/ What’s your point?
Polite:
なんで泣いてるの？
Nande naiteru no?
Why are you crying?
Harsh:
なんで泣いてるわけ？
Nande naiteru wake?
Why are you crying?
一週間前に家出したんだ。
Isshuukan mae ni iede shitan da.
I ran away from home a week ago.
ふーん。どこで寝てるわけ？
Fuun. Doko de neteru wake?
I see. So where are you sleeping?
家出する (iede suru) = to run away from home
わけ vs. はず
In a previous lesson, we talked about the particle はず (hazu, must be, supposed to).
さくらはヘッドフォンをしています。
Sakura wa heddofon wo shiteimasu.
Sakura is wearing headphones.
聞こえないわけですね。
Kikoenai wake desu ne.
So that means she can’t hear us, right?
In this example, はず is used similarly to わけだ, but there are a few differences. When you use はず, you are making a conclusion from what you observed. In the example above, maybe you see Sakura sitting nearby wearing headphones.
But when you use わけだ, you are relying on what you heard from someone else.
Based on personal experience:
田中さんはいつも時間を守るから、時間通りに来るはずです。
Tanaka-san wa itsumo jikan wo mamoru kara, jikan doori ni kuru hazu desu.
Tanaka-san is always punctual, so I’m sure he’ll come on time.
Based on what you hear from someone else:
田中さんはいつも時間通りに来ますよ。
Tanaka-san wa itsumo jikan doori ni kimasu yo.
Tanaka-san always comes on time.
じゃ、8時前に来るわけですね。
Ja, hachi-ji mae ni kuru wake desu ne.
Okay, so that means he’ll come before 8, right?
That wraps up our second lesson on わけだ. Let’s sum up what we learned today.
- わけだ is used when you explain a situation caused by something else or when you come to a conclusion.
- When you use わけだ, you put emphasis on the resulting situation. When you use just から or ので, you put emphasis on the reason.
- You can use て with わけだ when the cause is an illness, natural disaster, or feeling.
- Using わけ without です or だ sounds harsh and is rude.
- When you use はず, you are making a conclusion from what you observed, and when you use わけだ, you are relying on what you heard from someone else.
That wraps up the second lesson on わけだ. We still have one more lesson to do on わけだ, but that’s for another article. Until then, remember to keep practicing. Thanks for reading!
