日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N3

～おかげで

~okage de

thanks to

When to use it

Use ～おかげで to credit a positive outcome to a specific cause — a person's help, a decision, favorable conditions. It is the standard way to express gratitude-tinged causation in reports, emails and meeting openings, and pairs naturally with 無事に, 順調に, ～ずに済んだ. For negative outcomes use ～せいで; ～おかげで with a bad result is heard as sarcasm.

Formation

  • Verb: plain past (た形) + おかげで — 協力してくれたおかげで（also non-past 〜ているおかげで for ongoing states）
  • い-adjective: plain form + おかげで — 単価が安かったおかげで
  • な-adjective: 〜な + おかげで — 手続きが簡単なおかげで
  • Noun: 〜の + おかげで — ご支援のおかげで
  • Sentence-final: 〜おかげです／おかげだ。Hedged: 〜おかげか（"perhaps thanks to"）。Also 〜おかげもあって in written style.

Examples

  • Thanks to everyone's cooperation, we delivered without incident.

  • Thanks to sharing the materials in advance, the meeting ended early.

  • Thanks to the director sitting in, the negotiation came together.

  • Perhaps thanks to the new system, monthly reporting takes half the effort.

  • Thanks to favorable exchange rates, we expect higher profits this term.