原因と結果Cause and Consequence
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Explain the reason for a situation or decision using ため.
- Distinguish a negative outcome expressed with せいで from a positive or neutral outcome expressed with おかげで.
- State the result of a cause using 結果 and connect a cause to its result across two sentences.
- Express that one factor determines or influences an outcome using によって.
- Recognize and use a small set of cause/result discourse connectors to build a causal chain of more than one step.
- Analyze a simple problem by identifying its cause, its immediate result, and a further consequence.
- Read and write mixed-script Japanese describing problems, technology, environment, and decisions, using kanji strategies for cause, result, and influence.
Communication Scenario
Encouraged by the positive response to her explanation of the recycling system, Emma posts a follow-up in the discussion group: a short analysis of why a local convenience store near her apartment recently started charging for plastic bags, and what has changed as a result. Yuki reads the draft and notices that Emma has stated the cause and the result but has not clearly connected them — the two ideas sit side by side rather than forming a chain. Yuki suggests naming the cause explicitly with ため, describing the result with 結果, and adding a second-order consequence that follows from the first result. This chapter's Practical Performance Task asks you to analyze a problem, decision, or change from your own life or community in the same way: cause, immediate result, and further consequence.
- The writer states a clear cause using ため or a related cause expression.
- The writer states at least one direct result using 結果 or another result expression.
- The writer extends the chain with a second, further consequence that follows from the first result.
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's vocabulary supports describing problems, consequences, outcomes, technology, environment, and decisions. Vocabulary from earlier chapters and volumes remains active.
| Japanese | Reading | English meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 原因 | げんいん | cause; reason (of a problem) | noun; often with が分かる/がある |
| 結果 | けっか | result; consequence | noun; used as topic of a following clause or as a connector |
| 影響 | えいきょう | influence; effect | often with 影響を受ける/与える |
| 増加する | ぞうかする | to increase | する verb; intransitive, formal register |
| 減少する | げんしょうする | to decrease | する verb; intransitive, formal register |
| 問題 | もんだい | problem; issue | reviewed from earlier volumes, active for problem analysis |
| 解決する | かいけつする | to resolve; to solve | する verb; transitive with を |
| 対策 | たいさく | countermeasure; response (to a problem) | often with を取る/を立てる |
| 環境 | かんきょう | environment | used for both natural and social environments |
| 負担 | ふたん | burden; cost (to someone) | often with が増える/を減らす |
原因 and 結果 form a natural pair and are often used together in the same explanation; expect to see them recur throughout this unit's cause-and-result work.
れんしゅう — Practice: Choose a problem, change, or decision from your own life or community (for example, a price increase, a new rule, or a technology change). Write three sentences describing it using 原因, 結果, and 影響.
Script and Kanji Strategy
This chapter's kanji cluster around cause, result, influence, increase/decrease, problem, and solution. As in earlier chapters, furigana is provided at first appearance for new kanji and reduced for consolidated Volume II and Chapter 1–2 vocabulary.
結果 combines 結 (to tie; to conclude) and 果 (fruit; outcome) — the image of an outcome that has "borne fruit" from an earlier cause can help the compound stick in memory, though this is a memory aid rather than a rule for predicting meaning from components in general. 増加する and 減少する share the pattern of a directional verb root plus する, a pattern you will see again with other formal intransitive verbs describing change over time.
New Volume III kanji introduced in this chapter, such as those above, receive furigana at first appearance and are gradually reduced according to this volume's matrices. Kanji introduced in Chapters 1 and 2, such as 評価, 構成, 仕組み, and 特徴, appear with reduced furigana in this chapter's readings.
れんしゅう — Practice: Break 影響 and 対策 into their component kanji, where you can. For each word, write one sentence using it naturally rather than in isolation.
Pronunciation Focus
Several key words in this chapter contain a geminate consonant marked by small っ, and holding that consonant length clearly is important for both comprehension and meaning. 結果 (けっか) has a geminate っ before か; shortening it can make the word harder to recognize in fast speech. 増加 (ぞうか) has a long vowel in ぞう that should be held for two full morae, distinct from a shortened ぞ か with no length contrast.
- 結果 (けっか): hold the small っ fully before releasing into か.
- 影響 (えいきょう): both the long vowel えい and the long vowel きょう need full mora timing; rushing either changes the rhythm of the word.
- 増加する (ぞうかする): keep the long vowel in ぞう clearly held before moving to か.
Practice reading the Building Block example in the Grammar section aloud, paying particular attention to holding these long vowels and the geminate consonant in 結果.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This chapter introduces four connected tools for cause-and-result explanation: stating a reason with ため, distinguishing negative and positive outcomes with せいで and おかげで, naming a result with 結果, and marking an influencing factor with によって.
Stating a reason with ため
Purpose: to give the reason or cause behind a situation, decision, or change, in a relatively neutral and often written or formal register.
- プラスチックごみを減らすため、この店ではレジ袋が有料になった。In order to reduce plastic waste, this store started charging for shopping bags.Vる/Nの + ため — purpose or reason clause before the main clause
- 値段が上がったのは、原材料が値上がりしたためだ。The reason the price went up is that raw materials became more expensive.のは〜ためだ — naming the cause as the explanation for a stated fact
ため can express either purpose ("in order to") or reason ("because of"), and the surrounding clause usually makes the intended meaning clear. In this chapter, ため is used mainly for reason, as in the examples above.
Distinguishing せいで and おかげで
Purpose: to attribute an outcome to a cause while also signaling whether the outcome is negative (せいで) or positive/neutral (おかげで).
- 天気が悪かったせいで、イベントは中止になった。Because of the bad weather, the event was cancelled.Vた/Nの + せいで — negative outcome attributed to a cause
- 新しいアプリのおかげで、予約がずっと簡単になった。Thanks to the new app, making reservations has become much easier.Vた/Nの + おかげで — positive outcome attributed to a cause
Using せいで for a positive outcome, or おかげで for a clearly negative one, sounds unnatural or sarcastic to many listeners; this chapter authorizes both forms only with their standard negative/positive association, labeled clearly as shown above.
Naming a result with 結果
Purpose: to state the outcome that followed from a cause already described, connecting two sentences into a cause-then-result sequence.
- この店ではレジ袋が有料になった。その結果、マイバッグを持ってくる客が増えた。This store started charging for shopping bags. As a result, the number of customers bringing their own bags increased.その結果、〜 — opens a sentence stating the result of the prior sentence
- 売り上げが伸びた結果、新しい店員を雇うことになった。As a result of sales growing, they ended up hiring a new employee.Vた + 結果、〜 — within a single sentence, result follows a described cause
Marking an influencing factor with によって
Purpose: to identify the factor that determines, causes, or brings about variation in an outcome.
- 地域によって、ごみの分別のルールが違う。The rules for sorting trash differ depending on the area.Nによって、〜が違う/異なる — variation caused by the named factor
- 新しい技術によって、多くの作業が自動化された。Due to new technology, many tasks have become automated.Nによって + passive predicate — cause/agent of a resulting change
によって has two related uses active in this chapter: marking a factor that causes variation between cases, and marking the agent or cause behind a passive-predicate result. Both uses are illustrated above; more advanced によって uses are not required at this stage.
Building a cause-to-consequence chain
Grammar Review Practice
- Write one sentence giving a reason using ため.
- Write one sentence describing a negative outcome using せいで.
- Write one sentence describing a positive outcome using おかげで.
- Write two connected sentences: a cause, followed by a result introduced with その結果.
- Write one sentence using によって to describe variation between areas, groups, or cases.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Emma shows Yuki her draft post about the convenience store's new bag charge.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What reason does Emma give for the store charging for bags?
- What direct result does Emma decide to describe?
- What further consequence does Emma add to extend the chain?
Guided Practice
タスク１ — State the cause. Choose a problem, change, or decision from your own life or community. Write one sentence stating its cause using ため, せいで, or おかげで.
タスク２ — State the result. Write one sentence stating the direct result of that cause, using 結果 or その結果.
タスク３ — Extend the chain. Write one more sentence describing a further consequence that followed from the first result.
タスク４ — Mark an influencing factor. Write one sentence using によって to describe how an outcome varies depending on area, person, or situation.
タスク５ — Plan your analysis. Using the Building Block pattern from the Grammar section, outline five sentences for your own cause-and-result analysis: the problem or change, the cause, the direct result, the further consequence, and a closing sentence.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud at a clear, moderate pace.
きくタスク — An explanation of a traffic change, read aloud
この道は、事故が多かったため、去年、車の速度制限が下がった。その結果、事故の数は少し減ったそうだ。さらに、車の速度が下がった結果、近所の子どもたちが安心して歩けるようになったと聞いた。一方、車で通勤している人の中には、前より時間がかかるようになったと感じている人もいるらしい。地域によって、この変化への感じ方はいろいろなようだ。
聞くタスク — Listening task: Identify the cause of the speed limit change, the direct result, the further consequence, and the mixed reaction mentioned at the end.
This script reviews ため, 結果/その結果, a further consequence, and 一方 from Chapter 2, together with によって-style variation, as expected on this chapter's Practical Performance Task.
Speaking Practice
コントロールされた練習 — Controlled practice: Quick cause-and-result prompts
- 最近、あなたの町や生活の中で変わったことを一つ挙げて、その原因を言ってください。
- その変化の結果、何が起きましたか。「結果」を使って説明してください。
- その結果から、さらに何が起きたか、一文付け加えてください。
コミュニケーションタスク — Partner analysis and questions
Explain a problem, decision, or change from your own life or community to a partner using the five-stage Building Block pattern. Your partner should ask at least two follow-up questions about the cause or the chain of results and take notes, since you will use this interview to prepare feedback for your partner's Practical Performance Task.
ひとりでもできる練習 — Solo practice: A rehearsed analysis
Using your Guided Practice outline, rehearse and record a one-to-two-minute spoken analysis of your chosen problem or change for the discussion group described in the Communication Scenario. Listen back and check that the cause, result, and further consequence are clearly connected rather than sounding like disconnected facts.
Reading Practice
Read the following short post from the discussion group, then answer the questions below.
在宅勤務 — A Remote Work Analysis
私の会社では、感染症が広がったため、三年前から在宅勤務ができるようになった。その結果、通勤にかかる時間がなくなり、多くの社員の生活が楽になったそうだ。一方、在宅勤務が増えた結果、同僚と直接話す機会が減り、コミュニケーションが難しくなったと感じる人も出てきた。会社によって在宅勤務の日数のルールは違うが、私の会社では今も社員が自分で選べるようになっている。この問題を解決するため、最近は月に一度、全員が出社する日を作る対策が取られているらしい。
Notice that 社員, 機会, and 出社, less frequent kanji at this point in the volume, retain furigana, while 結果 and 対策, introduced earlier in this chapter, appear without support by the time they recur here.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What caused the company to allow remote work, and what was the direct result?
- What further consequence developed from the increase in remote work?
- What countermeasure does the writer describe near the end of the passage, and what problem is it meant to solve?
Writing Workshop
In this workshop you will draft the written portion of your Practical Performance Task: a cause-and-result analysis of a problem, decision, or change, following the five-stage Building Block pattern from the Grammar section.
- State the problem or change in one sentence.
- Give its cause using ため, せいで, or おかげで, choosing the form that matches whether the outcome is negative, positive, or neutral.
- State the direct result using 結果 or その結果.
- Extend the chain with one further consequence that follows from the first result.
- Close with one sentence about how people are responding or what might happen next, and revise using the checklist below.
チェックリスト — Editing checklist:
- My analysis states the problem or change clearly before naming a cause.
- My cause expression (ため, せいで, or おかげで) matches whether the outcome is negative, positive, or neutral.
- My analysis states at least one direct result using 結果 or その結果.
- My analysis extends the chain with at least one further consequence.
- If I described variation between areas, groups, or situations, I used によって correctly.
- My sentences connect to one another rather than reading as a disconnected list of facts.
- I maintained one consistent polite or plain style throughout.
- I checked unfamiliar kanji using the strategies in the Script and Kanji Strategy section.
Culture and Communication
Businesses, municipalities, and other institutions in Japan often explain the reason behind a new rule or charge directly to customers or residents, for example through a printed notice or a short announcement, rather than leaving the reason unstated. This makes cause-and-result vocabulary such as ため and 結果 common in everyday notices, not only in academic or news writing.
Public explanation of the reasons behind a fee, rule, or policy change is common in many countries, though the expected level of detail and the typical medium (a sign, a website, a spoken announcement) can differ. When describing a policy change from your own country or region for an international discussion group, it can be useful to note briefly how such changes are usually explained where you live.
せいで and おかげで are common in both spoken and written explanation, but they carry a noticeably personal or evaluative tone compared with the more neutral ため and によって, which appear more often in formal written analysis, notices, and reports. Choosing between them affects how opinionated or neutral an explanation sounds, even when the underlying facts are the same.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: *道が混んでいたおかげで、会議に遅れてしまった。 using おかげで, which normally signals a positive or grateful outcome, for a clearly negative result.
Correction: 道が混んでいたせいで、会議に遅れてしまった。 — use せいで for a negative outcome and reserve おかげで for a positive or genuinely appreciated one, as modeled in this chapter's Grammar section.
Error: *レジ袋が有料になった。マイバッグを持ってくる客が増えた。 two separate sentences with no connector, leaving the cause-and-result relationship implicit and unclear.
Correction: レジ袋が有料になった。その結果、マイバッグを持ってくる客が増えた。 — mark the second sentence explicitly as a result with その結果, as modeled in this chapter's Building Block.
Error: *雨が降ったによって、イベントは中止になった。 using によって to mean simply "because," which does not match how によって functions in this chapter.
Correction: 雨が降ったため、イベントは中止になった。 — reserve によって for marking variation between cases or an agent/cause behind a passive-predicate result, and use ため for a general stated reason, as shown in the Grammar section.
Chapter Review
Section A — ごい (Vocabulary)
1. Use 原因, 結果, 影響, and 対策 each in one original sentence describing a problem or change you know.
Section B — もじ (Script)
1. Write the readings for 原因, 結果, 影響, and 対策 from memory, then check them against the Script and Kanji Strategy section.
Section C — ぶんぽう (Grammar)
1. Complete the five Grammar Review Practice items in the Grammar section above, if you have not already done so.
2. Explain, in your own words, the difference in meaning and tone between せいで and おかげで, and give one example of each.
Section D — どっかいりかい (Reading comprehension)
1. Look again at the passage in the Reading Practice section. Write two sentences summarizing the cause-and-result chain in your own words, maintaining consistent polite style.
Section E — かくこと (Writing)
1. Complete your written analysis, following the Writing Workshop steps, as part of the Practical Performance Task below.
Section F — はなすこと (Speaking)
1. Present your rehearsed spoken analysis to a partner, instructor, or recording, as part of the Practical Performance Task below.
Practical Performance Task
じっせんパフォーマンスタスク
原因と結果 — Analyzing a problem, decision, or change
Prepare a cause-and-result analysis, as though posting it for the discussion group described in the Communication Scenario. Complete all three components below.
- Written analysis: Write a connected account of at least five sentences that follows the Building Block pattern from the Grammar section: the problem or change, the cause, the direct result, a further consequence, and a closing sentence. Use at least one of ため/せいで/おかげで, 結果 or その結果, and, if appropriate to your topic, によって.
- Spoken presentation: With a partner, instructor, or recording, present your analysis aloud in about one to two minutes, as though explaining the problem or change to a discussion group member unfamiliar with it.
- Peer or self-audit: Exchange analyses with a partner, or review your own after a break, and check specifically for a clearly stated cause, at least one clearly marked result, a further consequence that extends the chain, and clear pronunciation of long vowels and geminate consonants in key vocabulary.
Assessment focus: accurate cause-and-result vocabulary; correct and appropriately chosen use of ため, せいで, おかげで, 結果, その結果, and によって; a clear two-step causal chain (cause, result, further consequence); consistent register; and comprehensible pronunciation with attention to long vowels and geminate consonants.
Answer Key
Grammar Review Practice
Open-ended; models should follow the patterns shown in the Grammar section. Check that ため, せいで, or おかげで is chosen appropriately for the tone of the outcome (negative for せいで, positive for おかげで, neutral for ため), that 結果 or その結果 marks a genuine result rather than an unrelated added fact, and that によって, if used, marks variation between cases or an agent/cause behind a passive-predicate result rather than a general "because."
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Emma gives the reason that the store wants to reduce plastic waste (プラスチックごみを減らすため).
- Emma decides to describe the increase in customers bringing their own bags as the direct result.
- Emma adds that the store's amount of plastic waste also seems to be decreasing as a further consequence.
Listening task — Model summary
The speed limit was lowered because the road had a high number of accidents. The direct result was a slight decrease in accidents. A further consequence was that nearby children could walk more safely. A mixed reaction is mentioned at the end: some commuters who drive feel that their commute now takes longer than before.
Reading — Comprehension
- The spread of an infectious disease caused the company to allow remote work; the direct result was that commuting time disappeared and many employees' lives became easier.
- A further consequence was that opportunities to talk directly with coworkers decreased, and some people felt communication became more difficult.
- The company introduced a countermeasure requiring everyone to come to the office once a month, meant to address the communication problem caused by increased remote work.
Chapter Review — Sections A and B
Open-ended; check against the Core Vocabulary and Script and Kanji Strategy sections above.
Chapter Review — Section C
Open-ended for item 1; see Grammar Review Practice guidance above. For item 2, a correct explanation notes that せいで attributes a negative or unwelcome outcome to its cause, often carrying a tone of blame or regret, while おかげで attributes a positive or welcome outcome to its cause, often carrying a tone of gratitude; using either for the opposite type of outcome sounds unnatural or sarcastic.
Chapter Review — Section D
Model answer: 感染症が広がったため、この会社では在宅勤務ができるようになった。その結果、通勤時間がなくなったが、同僚と話す機会が減るという新しい問題も出てきた。 (Other accurate answers accepted.)
Chapter Review — Section E and F, and Practical Performance Task
These are open-ended production tasks. Evaluate the written analysis against the Writing Workshop checklist above, and evaluate the spoken presentation and peer or self-audit against the assessment focus listed under the Practical Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
いまできること — What you can do now
You can state the cause of a problem or change, distinguish negative from positive outcomes when naming a cause, mark a direct result, extend a causal chain with a further consequence, and describe variation between cases with によって. Combined with the classification and detail skills from Chapter 2, you can now build an organized analysis that moves from a described situation to its cause and its chain of consequences. This prepares you for the next chapter's work with supporting opinions.