BriefJapanese – How to use わけ？What does わけではない mean? – All about わけ explained.
わけ is an expression all Japanese students eventually encounter, sooner or later (usually sooner, as わけではない, is often used in anime). The more we encounter it, the more confusing it becomes – a tough nut to crack. Especially since the explanations in textbooks are often not clear. But this post is here to help you.
If you go through it, you will be able to understand various わけ nuances.
So let’s start. This post is also meant to be kept as reference.
What わけ is?
わけ (訳) is a noun that is used to denote determination, conclusion, or reason and all of the uses are extensions of these meanings.
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Conjugations:
verb + わけ ｜ verb + というわけ
いAdjective + わけ ｜ いAdjective + というわけ
なAdjective + な + わけ | なAdjective + （だ）+ というわけ
Noun + な + わけ | Noun + （だ）+ というわけ
The most confusing is わけだ – as it has few basic uses: stating reason, natural consequence, conclusion, or restating/summarizing something previously said.
These basic uses can be used in two types of situations, which is what confuses learners (seriously, they are very confusing).
The first is when the speaker uses わけ as a reaction to what his conversation partner says (both parts are active in dialogue), and the second is when the speaker performs a monologue, for example when explaining something to his conversation partner.
By the way,
わけだ can be replaced with というわけだ(ってわけ）without changing the meaning, the latter is more often used with なAdjectives and nouns.
Responses to conversation partner utterances type:
わけだ that’s why, no wonder
Used when someone understands the reason or cause of something he/she was wondering about, based on something heard from another person. Something becomes clear to the speaker after hearing new information. This usage requires a conversation partner statement, so it is used in dialogue.
Often used together with だから、それで、なるほど、やっぱり。
「ゴードン・ラムゼイこのケーキを焼いたんだ。」
「本当？ だからおいしいわけよね。」
“Gordon Ramsey has baked this cake.”
“Really? No wonder it is so good.”
「長瀞が風邪ひいちゃった。」
「あぁ、だから今日部に来なかったわけだね。」
“Nagatoro caught flu.”
“Oh, that is why she did not come to the club today, right?”
「僕の父が事故に遭った。」
「なるほど、それで心配そうな顔してるわけだ。」
After seeing the friend’s worried face (and starting to wonder about the reason, the friend says:)
“My dad had an accident.”
“I see, so that’s why you look worried.”
わけだ Oh I see, so you mean, in other words
Used when restating or summarizing what other person has said. Often appears together with つまり。
「彼は来週から、ジムへ通い始めるらしい。」
I heard that he would start going to the gym next week.
「つまり、彼はやせたいわけだ。」
In other words, he wants to lose weight.
「娘はいつも授業の勉強が大変だと文句を言ってる。」
“My daughter always complains about how much she has to study for her classes.”
「つまり、勉強が嫌いなわけだ。」
In a word, she hates studying, doesn’t she?
わけだ because, since, so
Used to state the reason for what the conversation partner has said. Often to make someone understand the facts of a situation.
「田中さんが亡くなったそうだ。」
「本当？心臓発作だったというわけだな。」
“I have heard that Tanaka-san has died recently.”
“Really? That must have been a heart attack.”
Monologue:
わけだ naturally, that’s why, so
Used to indicate that something is a natural (inevitable) consequence of something, which is mentioned first and followed by phrases like から or ので. Often used when the speaker explains something.
年齢とともに骨が弱くなり、骨折しやすくなるわけだ
With age, the bones get weaker, so it gets easier to break them.
日本に20年住んでいたので、日本語が完璧というわけだ。
He has lived for over twenty years in Japan, so his Japanese is perfect.
A。Bわけだ。
Used to restate or summarize, often when explaining something to a conversation partner.
彼は母の弟の息子だ。つまり、私たちは従兄弟同士というわけだ。
He is my mother’s younger brother’s son. In other words, we are cousins.
A。Bわけだ。
Used to indicate that B is the reason for A.
とつぜん500km離れた別の街に引っ越すことにした。恋に夢中だったわけだ。
Suddenly she decided to move to another city 500 km away. Because she was madly in love.
わけがわからない does not make sense
Used when something cannot be understood by the speaker, and does not make sense.
Can be contracted to わけわかんない.
あなたの話は わけがわからないわ。
Your story does not make sense.
彼がいうことは僕にはわけがわからないよ。
What he says makes no sense to me at all.
わけだから since, because
Used to describe a conclusion that is logically drawn based on evidence. Generally used in Aわけだから〜B当然 pattern, indicating that B should happen, because A is the case. Often it is used when speaking about people other than the speaker (or to make the statement more objective when speaking about oneself.)
あなたは皆から選ばれたわけだから、頑張るのは当然だ。
You were chosen by all of us, so it is only natural that you should work hard.
彼らは他者の土地にモノをつくろうとするわけだから、軋轢が生まれるのは当然です。
Since they are trying to build things on other people’s land, it is natural that aversion would be born.
わけではない it is not the case, it does not mean that
わけでもない is also common. Can be contracted to わけじゃない。
It has two basic uses:
①わけではない
Used to deny what someone can conclude or think (denies the wrong conclusion). It can be used as a euphemistic negation (for example when we don’t want to be rude to a superior at work, or a client or circumstances do not allow it for some reason). Often used with 特に (especially)、べつに(particularly)、からといって (just because).
猫が好きだが、飼ってるわけではない。
I like cats but it doesn’t mean I keep one.
(Used when conversation partner might assume that speaker has a cat because he is so good with them etc)
物価が高いからといって泥棒をしてもいいわけではないよ！
Just because prices are high doesn’t mean it’s okay to steal!
A: 「Cさんは日本に十年以上住んでる。日本語が上手だろうね。」 B：「日本に長い間住んでも、日本語を話せるわけではないよ。」
A: “C has been living in Japan for over ten years. His Japanese is probably amazing, right?”
B: “Even if he has lived in Japan for a long time it doesn’t mean he can speak Japanese.”
川は美しいからといって危なくないわけではない。
Just because a river is beautiful does not mean that it is not dangerous.
上司「この商品は大人気だろう。」
部下「顧客は別にこのようなものを気に入っているわけではないと思いますが」
Boss “This product will likely be a hit.”
Subordinate “However I think that consumers don’t like products like these .”
患者「田中先生のおかげで僕は前よりずっと元気になったんですよ。」
田中先生「元気になっても病気が治ったわけではありません。」
Patient “Thanks to you, Dr.Tanaka I feel much better than I did.”
Dr. Tanaka “Even if you get better, it does not mean that the illness is cured.”
②わけではない
Used when something cannot be entirely negated (partial negation).
Often used with phrases like 全部 (all)、みんな (everyone)、いつも(always)、誰でも(everyone)、必ずしも(not necessarily) etc.
「最初から ウソばかりだ」
「全部がウソってわけじゃないけど、ときどき言ったことはウソだった。」
“He did nothing but lie from the very beginning.”
“It does not mean that everything was a lie, but sometimes he lied.”
全員がそう思ってたわけじゃないけどね。
It is not like all of us think so. (Some do not.)
「料理の仕方がわからないね。」
「料理することができないわけではない。」
“You don’t know how to cook, right?”
It is not like I cannot cook. (I can cook, but not well.)
Sometimes the exact meaning (1 or ２) depends on context.
というわけではない
Exactly like わけではない, but can appear directly after adverbs, particles, volitional form, and quotations and seem to be more commonly used **with nouns and なadjectives** instead of なわけではない construction. In other words, it is more permissive.
私は映画が好きというわけではないが、月に2 、3 つは見る。
It is not like I like movies, but I see them 2,3 times a month.
今私は完璧に幸せというわけではない。
It is not like I am completely happy right now.
スタートアップになろうというわけではない。
It is not like we are trying to become a start-up.
kappazonが電子読本を販売する最初の会社というわけではないが初めて成功した。
Kappazon is not the first company to push e-readers on market, but the first to succeed.
わけがない impossible
Used to emphasize that something is impossible to happen (lit. there is no reason for something to happen). In casual speech shortened to わけない。Usually does not follow past form. can be replaced with はずがない (and unlike わけがない can follow past form)。
あの墜落で生きてるわけがない。
It is impossible to survive that crash.
こんな事が起きるわけがない。
Such a thing can’t happen.
彼を信じないわけがない。
There is no reason to not trust him.
わけない hassle-free, easy, hands down, naturally
An old-fashioned expression used to express that something is really simple. Do not confuse with わけない, contraction of わけがない.
この問題を解くのはわけない。
Solving this problem is easy.
どんなスポーツでも彼にはわけなくできる。
Sports always come naturally to him.
わけにはいかない cannot do, must not
Lit. “cannot do something”, unlike for example potential form or ことができる implies that the speaker cannot do something due to some reason, for example, social obligation, binding contract, etc.
会社は赤字だから、これ以上お金を失うわけにはいかない。
Our company budget is in the red, we can’t afford to lose any more money.
俺には大事な人がいるから死ぬわけにはいかないんだ！
I can’t die, I have someone important to me!
ないわけにはいかない no other choice but to
Lit. meaning “one can not do something”, implies that the speaker feels a sense of responsibility or duty to do something, for example, due to social obligation, past experiences, or current circumstances.
弟の結婚式なので、出席しないわけにはいかない。
Since it is the wedding of my younger brother I have no other choice but to attend it.
上司だから彼の意見に耳を傾けないわけにはいかない。
Since he is my superior, I have no choice but to listen to his opinion.
And this is all folks,
I am mrnoone and that was ‘not so’ brief Japanese.
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