Giving a simple reason in Japanese

Level A1

Giving a simple reason in Japanese

By the end of this lesson you can ask why with どうしてですか (dōshite desu ka), explain your choice of a drink or a place, and add a contrast with でも (demo), “but”. The central idea is this: in Japanese the reason comes first and から (kara) closes it, so ですから (desu kara) sits at the end of the reason, where English “because” sits at the start. So 好きですから (suki desu kara) is “Because I like it”. And after a refusal you accept it without pressing for a reason.

Warm-up: what you'll reuse

These sentences come back in this lesson, even if this is the first time you see them. コーヒーが好きです (kōhī ga suki desu) says what you like: “I like coffee”. きれいです (kirei desu), “It's clean”, describes something, and so do これは大きいです (kore wa ōkii desu), “This one is big”, and それは小さいです (sore wa chiisai desu), “That one is small”. 明日は会議です (ashita wa kaigi desu), “I have a meeting tomorrow”, uses 会議 (kaigi), “meeting”. カフェに行きませんか (kafe ni ikimasen ka), “Why don't we go to a café?”, is an invitation: English says “why” here, but Japanese has no どうして and asks for no reason. Notice that the first five end in です (desu): that's where the reason word will attach.

Three words for reasons and contrasts

どうして (dōshite) asks “why”. から (kara) after a reason means “because”. でも (demo) means “but” or “however”.

Two colleagues choose where to eat

Listen once without reading. One colleague suggests a place, the other asks why, hears the reason and raises a problem. どこで食べますか (doko de tabemasu ka) asks “Where shall we eat?”, ここ (koko) is “here” and じゃあ (jā) means “then, in that case”. Notice that どうしてですか stands alone: it refers to what was just said. The last line gives the reason first and the decision second.

Asking why: どうしてですか

どうしてですか is どうして, “why”, plus です and か (ka), the question particle. You don't need to repeat the choice: after お茶を飲みます (ocha o nomimasu), “I'll have tea”, the short question is enough. Here the conversation opens with 何を飲みますか (nani o nomimasu ka), “What will you have?”. Use it when someone has told you a choice or an opinion and you're curious. It's a direct question, so ask it with interest and take the answer as it comes.

The short answer: …ですから

The answer is the reason plus ですから. The word before です stays as it is, whether it's 好き (suki), an adjective such as きれい (kirei) or 大きい (ōkii), or a noun such as 会議 (kaigi): 好きですから, “Because I like it”; きれいですから, “Because it's clean”; 大きいですから, “Because it's big”; 会議ですから, “Because I have a meeting”. You don't repeat the rest of the sentence: both people already know what the reason is for.

好き／きれい／大きい／会議ですから

Reason first, decision second: …ですから、…

To say the reason and the decision in one sentence, put the reason first, close it with ですから, add a comma and then say what follows: お茶が好きですから、お茶を飲みます (ocha ga suki desu kara, ocha o nomimasu), “I like tea, so I'll have tea”. English “because” comes before the reason, but から comes after it, so the order works like “X, so Y”, and the translations here use “so”.

The second part can be a plain statement or a proposal with ましょう (mashō), “let's”: ここは小さいですから、カフェに行きましょう (koko wa chiisai desu kara, kafe ni ikimashō), “It's small here, so let's go to a café”. The last example uses 今日 (kyō), “today”.

Don't confuse this with the から of “from”: in 駅から来ます (eki kara kimasu), “I come from the station”, it follows a place. In this lesson's sentences, から after です gives a reason. Each sentence here gives one reason, and that's all you need for now.

お茶が好き／ここは小さい／明日は会議ですから、お茶を飲みます／カフェに行きましょう／今日行きます

Adding a contrast: でも

でも opens a new sentence that goes against what came before or adds a problem. In this lesson the first sentence ends with its full stop, and でも starts the second one, followed by a comma. Both sentences stay complete: ここはきれいです。でも、小さいです (koko wa kirei desu. demo, chiisai desu), “It's clean here. But it's small”.

It works with a preference too: コーヒーが好きです。でも、今日はお茶を飲みます (kōhī ga suki desu. demo, kyō wa ocha o nomimasu), “I like coffee. But today I'll have tea”. And いいですね。でも、明日は会議です (ii desu ne. demo, ashita wa kaigi desu), “Sounds good. But I have a meeting tomorrow”, turns down a day with a reason the speaker chooses to give.

ここはきれいです／コーヒーが好きです。でも、小さいです／今日はお茶を飲みます

After a no, don't press

どうしてですか works well for a choice; after a refusal it needs care. When the answer to 明日行きませんか (ashita ikimasen ka), “Why don't we go tomorrow?”, is すみません、明日はちょっと… (sumimasen, ashita wa chotto…), “Sorry, tomorrow's a bit…”, the person has said no and left the reason unsaid. Asking どうしてですか at that point can feel like pushing, so in situations like this one take the no with そうですか (sō desu ka), “I see”. You can then suggest another day, as here, or leave it there. If someone does give you a reason, そうですか is enough too. If you did ask and the person doesn't explain, don't press.

Your turn, and the summary

Cover the lines below. Ask where to have a drink, suggest the café, ask why, give the reason and accept with your own, reason first. Only then check. Every word here has already appeared in this lesson.

To sum up: どうしてですか asks about a choice, ですから follows the reason, the full sentence puts the reason first, でも opens a contrast in a new sentence, and after a no you accept without pressing.

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