N2 · Expressions (N2)
いじょう(は), からには: now that, since
a fact that commits you to what follows
いじょうは and からには mean "now that this is so": a fact that leaves only one proper course of action.
At a glance
- Remember
- いじょうは and からには: a fact that binds — and what follows is a must, a will or a should.
- Form
- 約束した以上now that I have promised
- Signal words
- 〜以上は
- 〜以上、
- 〜からには
- 〜上は
- Trap
- Wrong:雨が降った以上、道が濡れている。Right:雨が降ったから、道が濡れている。
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Japanese.
| now that I have promised | 約束した以上 |
| now that I have promised (with は) | 約束した以上は |
| since I have decided to do it | やると決めたからには |
| since you are a student | 学生であるからには |
| now that it has come to this (formal) | こうなった上は |
| as long as it is a rule | 規則である以上 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Plain form + 以上(は): now that this is so, something must follow.
引き受けた以上、最後まで責任を持ってください。Now that you have taken it on, please see it through to the end.
からには means the same and sounds more personal and determined.
試合に出るからには、勝ちたい。Since I am taking part in the match, I want to win.
The second half is a duty, a resolve, a demand or a firm conclusion.
社員である以上、会社の規則に従うべきだ。As an employee, you ought to follow the company's rules.
A noun or na-adjective takes である before 以上 and からには.
プロであるからには、言い訳はできない。Being a professional, you cannot make excuses.
Example sentences
留学するからには、しっかり勉強してくるつもりだ。Since I am going to study abroad, I intend to study properly.
契約にサインした以上、今更やめることはできない。Now that you have signed the contract, you cannot back out at this stage.
やると言ったからには、必ずやる。I said I would do it, so I will.
本人が反対している以上は、この計画は進められない。As long as the person concerned is against it, this plan cannot go ahead.
親である以上、子どもを守る責任がある。Being a parent, you have a responsibility to protect your child.
こうなった上は、自分たちでやるしかない。Now that it has come to this, we have no choice but to do it ourselves.
7 more example sentences
日本に住む以上、日本のルールは知っておくべきだ。As long as you live in Japan, you ought to know its rules.
始めたからには、最後までやり通しなさい。Now that you have started, see it through.
代表に選ばれたからには、全力を尽くします。Since I have been chosen to represent us, I will give it everything.
証拠がない以上、彼を疑うことはできない。As long as there is no evidence, we cannot suspect him.
店を開くからには、成功させたい。Since I am opening a shop, I want to make it a success.
決まった以上は、文句を言わずにやろう。Now that it has been decided, let's get on with it without complaining.
約束した以上、守るはずだ。Since he promised, he is bound to keep it.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "since it rained, the road is wet" is a plain reason, and learners reach for the more impressive 以上. But 以上 and からには commit somebody to a course of action; a wet road is just a result, and a result takes から or ので.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
以上(は) and からには follow the plain form and present a fact as binding: once this is true, something must follow. 約束した以上、守らなければならない, "now that I have promised, I must keep it"; 日本に来たからには、日本語を覚えたい, "since I have come to Japan, I want to learn Japanese".
The second half is what the speaker regards as the only proper consequence: a duty (なければならない, べきだ), a resolution (つもりだ, たい, (よ)う), a demand (てほしい, なさい) or a firm conclusion (はずだ, しかない). A neutral fact cannot follow: 雨が降った以上、道が濡れている is wrong; that is a plain から.
The two are almost interchangeable. からには sounds more personal and determined and is common in speech; 以上 sounds more logical and impersonal and is common in writing, rules and arguments. A third, 上は, is formal and written: こうなった上は, "now that it has come to this".
English "since" or "now that" are the closest, but they are neutral and can introduce any reason. Learners use から or ので and lose the sense of commitment — or use 以上 for an ordinary reason and sound as if they were laying down the law. Before a noun, 以上 also keeps its everyday meaning "more than": 三人以上.
A closer look
Three meanings of いじょう
After a number, 以上 is "or more": 二十歳以上, "twenty and over" — note that the number itself is included, unlike English "more than twenty". At the end of a list, a speech or a letter, 以上です means "that is all".
After a clause it is the pattern of this topic: "since this is so, …". The three uses are easy to tell apart by what stands in front — a number, nothing at all, or a whole clause in the plain form.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the clause before is a noun or a na-adjective
careful Japanese inserts である: 学生である以上, 必要であるからには.
学生である以上、勉強が一番大切だ。As a student, studying comes first.
だ before these words sounds abrupt in a pattern that is itself formal, and である is the written form of だ.
Worth knowing (1)
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からには with a resolve
からには is especially common with the speaker's own resolve — たい, つもりだ, the volitional. It sounds like somebody rolling up their sleeves.
ここまで来たからには、頂上まで登ろう。Now that we have come this far, let's climb to the top.
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