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〜から because / since: Meaning & Examples

kara · JLPT N5

JLPT N515 textsQuiz readyStudy card

〜から means “because / since”. It is a JLPT N5 pattern: below are its construction, the nuances that trip learners up, and the sentences where real Japanese writers use it.

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一枚いちまいStudy card

A free one-page study card for 〜から (because / since), JLPT N5: what it means, how it attaches, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuances that trip learners up. Read it right here, or take the PDF or PNG with you. We never ask for an email for this card.

The 〜から study card: one A4 page holding the pattern, its JLPT N5 meaning, the construction rules, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuance notes.
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How 〜から works

雨が降っているから、行きません is “It’s raining, so I’m not going.” Attach it to the end of a clause in plain or polite form; nouns and な-adjectives take だから. Note that から is also the particle “from” (東京から, 3時から) — which one you are looking at depends on whether a whole clause or a bare noun sits in front of it.

構文こうぶんConstruction

  • Verb / い-adjective (plain or polite) + から

    疲れたから、早く寝ます。 — I’m tired, so I’ll go to bed early.

  • Noun / な-adjective + だから (plain) ・ ですから (polite)

    日曜日だから、店は休みです。 — It’s Sunday, so the shop is closed.

  • Reason as an afterthought: result first, then 〜から。

    もう帰ります。明日、早いですから。 — I’m heading home. I’ve got an early start tomorrow.

  • A different から: Noun + から = “from”

    駅から歩いて十分です。 — It’s ten minutes on foot from the station.

例文れいぶんIn a sentence

It’s raining, so I’m not going out today.
It was cheap, so I bought two.
It’s Sunday, so the bank is closed.

注意点ちゅういてんNuances

  • 体調が悪いから早退します reads as “I’ve decided”; ので softens the same sentence into something a manager will simply accept.
  • In ordinary polite speech the reason clause usually stays plain and only the main clause is polite: 疲れたから、早く寝ます. Stacking ですから／ますから is correct but heavy, and belongs to formal announcements.
  • から sits comfortably in front of a request or a command — 危ないから、触らないで. That is the one job ので cannot do casually.
  • Ending a sentence on から (行きません。雨だから。) is conversational and slightly defensive. Used often it starts to sound like you are arguing with someone.
How 〜から differs from similar patterns
  • ので — ので states the reason as a plain fact anyone would accept; から states it as your own judgement. Same meaning, different amount of push.
  • 〜てから — 〜てから is the て-form plus this same から, but it means “after doing”, not “because”: 食たべてから means after eating, never because of eating.

練習れんしゅうYour Turn

Tip

Think of one thing you did yesterday and the reason you did it. Say it twice — once with から, once with ので — and notice which version you would actually use talking to your boss.

〜から (because / since) in real sentences

Each one is quoted from a published Japanese text in this library and links to the story it came from. Some use older spellings, or break off where the sentence carried on. They are transcribed exactly as their authors wrote them.

— from All the Chickens Are Happy (N4)

— from The Priest and the Apprentice (N3)

— from Came Without Counting the Money (N2)

— from The Myoga (N2)

確認かくにんSelf-check

Practise 〜から: fill in the blank

4 sentences taken from real Japanese texts, with the grammar removed. Pick what belongs in the gap.

Question 1 of 4

  1. その人に間違いなく会うために約束をしたのだblank、ほかのよくわかる処で待っていたっていいじゃないか

    Answer: から — from The Promise (N3)

  2. 私が一時の興奮blank殺ってしまったあの迪子

    Answer: から — from Old Scar (N1)

  3. 十二時限り営業まかりならぬというようなお達しは、その頃は出ていなかったblank、十二時頃でも喜んで私たちを迎えたのであった。

    Answer: から — from A Summer Night's Adventure (N1)

  4. にぎやかだblankすきだ

    Answer: から — from Rain (N3)

Read the texts these came from

Appears in 15 of 367 texts in our library.

蔵書ぞうしょThe texts

15 texts in the library use 〜から

Free to read in full. Furigana over every kanji, a dictionary on any word you tap, and an English breakdown of each sentence.

ろくろ首 cover Read ろくろ首 The Long-Necked Monster 小泉 八雲 51 min read · Short Story ネコ　ノ　オバアサン cover Read ネコ　ノ　オバアサン Grandma Cat 村山 籌子 10 min read · Short Story 電灯と浦島 cover Read 電灯と浦島 The Electric Light and Urashima 槙村 浩 3 min read · Short Story にはとり　は　みんな　しあわせ cover Read にはとり　は　みんな　しあわせ All the Chickens Are Happy 村山 籌子 14 min read · Short Story 魔法の笛 cover Read 魔法の笛 The Magic Flute ブラウニング ロバート 25 min read · Short Story 和尚さんと小僧 cover Read 和尚さんと小僧 The Priest and the Apprentice 楠山 正雄 21 min read · Short Story 雨 cover Read 雨 Rain 竹内 浩三 2 min read · Short Story （洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来た cover Read （洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来た Came Without Counting the Money 三遊亭 円朝 2 min read · Short Story 赤い蝋燭 cover Read 赤い蝋燭 Red Candle 新美 南吉 11 min read · Short Story 約束 cover Read 約束 The Promise 夢野 久作 4 min read · Short Story （和）茗荷 cover Read （和）茗荷 The Myoga 三遊亭 円朝 10 min read · Short Story インチキ文学ボクメツ雑談 cover Read インチキ文学ボクメツ雑談 A Chat on Exterminating Phony Literature 坂口 安吾 12 min read · Article
Show the other 3 texts
古傷 cover Read 古傷 Old Scar 蘭 郁二郎 4 min read · Short Story 夏の夜の冒険 cover Read 夏の夜の冒険 A Summer Night's Adventure 平林 初之輔 39 min read · Short Story 銭形平次捕物控 cover Read 銭形平次捕物控 The Kojiki's Eye Detective Files 野村 胡堂 95 min read · Short Story

解説かいせつBackground

Where this 〜から explanation comes from

〜から sits at JLPT N5 in the 302-point taxonomy every text in this library is tagged against. Each text is read for the patterns it contains, which is what lets this page list every text that uses 〜から and pull its example sentences out of them.

The example sentences were not written to demonstrate the rule. They are quoted from published Japanese texts in this library (All the Chickens Are Happy and The Priest and the Apprentice among them), and each one links back to the story it came from, so you can read the sentence where it actually happened.

質問しつもんQuestions

〜から: questions & answers

What is the difference between から and ので?

Both mean “because”. から presents the reason as your own judgement and can sound assertive; ので presents it as an objective fact and sounds softer. That makes ので the safer choice with customers, teachers and bosses. から is also the one you want in front of a request or warning: 危ないから、気をつけて.

Does から come before or after the reason?

After it. Japanese puts the reason first and attaches から to its end, then states the result: 寒いから、窓を閉めます (“It’s cold, so I’ll close the window”). English does the opposite, so the order feels backwards at first. In conversation you can also tack the reason on afterwards: 窓を閉めます。寒いから。

Is the から that means “because” the same as the から that means “from”?

They are written and pronounced the same, and you tell them apart by what precedes them. A bare noun before から gives “from” (家から, 九時から); a whole clause before から gives “because” (高いから, 行くから).

Is there a printable 〜から cheat sheet?

Yes. A free one-page 〜から (because / since) study card sits at the top of this page, as both a PDF and a PNG. It carries the JLPT N5 meaning, how the pattern attaches, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuances learners get wrong. You do not need an account or an email address to download it.

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