Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 6: 22/24

かと言(い)うと ①Why? Well..., Why? Because..., If you ask me why..., The reason why is..., It is because...

In casual speech, の can be changed to ん and と to って

Structure

どうして(1) + Phrase (A) + かというと(2) + Phrase (B) + からだ(3)

Phrase (A)。どうして(1) + かというと(2) + Phrase (B) + からだ(3)

どうして(1) + Verb + （の） + かというと(2)

(1) なぜ
(2) かといえば
(3) のだ、ためだ

Details

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About ～かというと ①

～かというと is a phrase that has two primary functions. The first is used in conjunction with 'why' and 'how' words, like どうして or なぜ, while the other is used with 'who', 'when', 'where', and 'what'. We will focus on the former in this lesson. かというと is a combination of the case marking particle か in its use as a question marker, the case marking particleと in its citation use, the う - Verb 言(い)う 'to say', and the case marking particle と in its result use.

This is quite a few particles combined together, but the literal meaning is more simply 'if (A) were to be asked', before the speaker will go on to highlight their reasoning in (B).

As ～かというと will come before some sort of explanation, から will also regularly be used at the end of the sentence as 'because', emphasizing the speaker's reasoning.

Caution

Like other grammar points that utilize the 'if' nuance of と, ば, and sometimes even たら may be used. However, たら will appear far less frequently than と or ば.

  • どうして冬(ふゆ)でも冷房(れいぼう)をかけているかと言(い)えば、お客(きゃく)さんに汗(あせ)をかかずに買(か)い物(もの)をさせる為(ため)です。
    If you ask me why we keep the air conditioning on even in the winter, it is because we want the customers to shop without sweating.
  • なぜ安(やす)い方(ほう)を選(えら)んだかといったら、安(やす)いやつも、高(たか)いやつもついている機能(きのう)が同(おな)じだからです。
    If you ask me why I picked the cheaper one, it is because both the cheaper one and the expensive one have the same functionality.

Examples

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    なぜ彼(かれ)はそれをしたのかというといまだに私(わたし)自身(じしん)もわからない。

    If you ask me why he did that, well, even now I don't know.

    どうしてそのブランドのスマホは買(か)いたくないかっていうと、前(まえ)に一回(いっかい)買(か)ったけど二週間(にしゅうかん)で壊(こわ)れたんだよね.

    If you ask me why I don't want to buy that brand of smartphone, it is because I bought one before and it broke in (just) two weeks.

    キリンには長(なが)い首(くび)がある。なぜかというと、その長(なが)い首(くび)を使(つか)って高(たか)い木(き)の上(うえ)にある葉(は)を食(た)べるためだ。

    Giraffes have long necks. The reason why is because by using their long necks they can eat leaves on the top of trees.

    どうしてバスを使(つか)うよりは自転車(じてんしゃ)を使(つか)うようにしているかというと、自転車(じてんしゃ)はより安(やす)いばかりではなくて交通(こうつう)渋滞(じゅうたい)の中(なか)でもより速(はや)いからです。

    If you ask me why I do my best to bike (to work) rather than take a bus, it is because bicycles are not only cheaper but also faster in traffic.

    法律(ほうりつ)によって犬(いぬ)や猫(ねこ)にチップをつけることが要求(ようきゅう)されています。なぜかというとペットが捨(す)てられた場合(ばあい)にすぐにオーナーがわかるようにするためです。

    The law requires that dogs and cats be microchipped. Why? Because in the event that the pet is abandoned, the microchip will allow the owner to be quickly identified.

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～かというと ① – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

  • EbonyMidget

    EbonyMidget

    Here’s an article on the differences between というのは、というのも、なぜかというと、どうしてかというと and なんでかというと:
    https://pothos.blue/html/20140424k.htm
    In short, you can use なんでかというと informally.
    They also have articles for all the other conjunctions here :
    https://pothos.blue/setuzokusi.htm

  • ggw1776

    ggw1776

    The first example sentence is the only one that uses this construction and it’s not clear where this even comes from, can someone tell me what’s going on here?

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    It’s as this note on the grammar point says:

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