Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 20/22

お陰(かげ)でThanks to, Because of

Structure

Verb + おかげで
［い］Adjective + おかげで
［な］Adjective + な + おかげで
Noun + の + おかげで

Details

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About おかげで

おかげで (or お陰(かげ)で in kanji) is an expression that is used to show thanks or appreciation in Japanese. It is usually translated simply as 'thanks to (A)', or 'because of (A)'. おかげで is a combination of the polite prefix お, the noun 陰(かげ) 'shade', and the case marking particle で.

おかげで can be used after any word in its attributive form.

Literally, お陰(かげ)で means 'in the shade of (A)'. This implies that (B) was only made possible due to (A) creating the ideal situation for it to occur.

Caution

おかげで may sometimes be used sarcastically, in the same way as 'thanks to (A)' in English. In these sentences, it is usually quite clear from the context/tone of voice that the actual meaning is negative.

  • お前(まえ)が変(へん)な事(こと)言(い)ったおかげで、俺(おれ)が言(い)いたい事(こと)を忘(わす)れちゃったじゃん！
    Thanks to you saying something weird, I forgot what I wanted to say! (Sarcasm)
  • あいつのおかげでまた残業(ざんぎょう)だよ。
    We have to work overtime again thanks to him. (Sarcasm)

Fun Fact

おかげで is often used at the beginning of a sentence in the same way as 'thankfully' or 'luckily' in English. This just means that whatever comes after おかげで happened, despite negative outcomes also being possible.

  • おかげで、テストに合格(ごうかく)することができました。
    Thankfully, I was able to pass my test.
  • おかげで、いい休暇(きゅうか)を過(す)ごせました。
    Thanks to you, I was able to enjoy a nice holiday.

Examples

--:--

    薬(くすり)のお陰(かげ)でだいぶよくなりました。

    Thanks to the medicine, I got much better.

    風(かぜ)が強(つよ)いお陰(かげ)で、ヨットのスピードが上(あ)がった。

    Thanks to the strong wind, the yacht gained speed.

    お陰(かげ)で助(たす)かったよ。来(き)てくれてありがとう。

    Thanks to you, I was saved. Thank you for coming.

    スマホのお陰(かげ)で、目的地(もくてきち)にスムーズに着(つ)きました。

    Thanks to my smartphone, I had no trouble arriving at my destination.

    君(きみ)のお陰(かげ)で取引(とりひき)は失敗(しっぱい)だったよ。

    Thanks to you the deal was a failure!

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おかげで – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @Maykeye and @rexd !

    This sentence is supposed to say 勉強をした____で、試験に合格した. I have checked out the data on our end and it seems like everything is correct on our end. It’s possible you’re still seeing an outdated version and you can fix this by re-downloading the site data through the in-app settings, or clearing your cache in your browser.

    I hope this answers your question and resolves this issue!

  • Maykeye

    Maykeye

    Yeah, it seems clearing the cache fixed it. I don’t have おかげで in ghosts and I didn’t met a case where the answer looked unexpected

  • Isurandil492

    Isurandil492

    文プロのお陰で文法を理解できるようになってきた。
    Thanks to Bunpro, I am starting to understand grammar.

    Considering it’s なってきた shouldn’t it be

    Thanks to Bunpro, I started understanding/to understand grammar.

    ?

    Sometimes, I have the feeling that I am stricter in translating than would be appropriate in Japanese Probably, that just shows that I am still learning how to do this properly

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