N3 · Expressions (N3)
わけ: when the reason adds up
わけだ, わけではない, わけがない
わけだ draws a conclusion, and its two negatives mean very different things.
わけ is a noun meaning roughly "reason" or "the way things stand", and as a pattern it attaches like any noun: after the plain form of a verb or i-adjective (行くわけ, 高いわけ), after な with a na-adjective (静かなわけ), and after な or という with a noun. わけだ or わけです presents a conclusion that follows from facts already on the table: the speaker has put two things together and the result is no surprise. 十年も住んでいたなら、上手なわけだ is "if he lived there ten years, no wonder he is good".
わけではない is a partial denial: "it is not (that is to say, not necessarily) the case that". It does not claim the opposite; it removes a conclusion the listener might have drawn. 嫌いなわけではない is "it is not that I dislike it", and a "but" is usually on its way. With 全部, いつも or みんな it means "not all" or "not always". In speech it becomes わけじゃない.
わけがない is the opposite in strength: "there is no way that", "it cannot be". 彼が知らないわけがない is "there is no way he does not know". It is close to はずがない, but more emphatic and more emotional — it sounds like a reaction, not a calculation.
Two things go wrong for English speakers. The first is mixing up the two negatives, which differ by one particle and mean "not necessarily" and "certainly not". The second is using わけだ as a plain "because". It is not a cause but a conclusion: "so that explains it". For giving a reason, から and ので are the words.
The form
| so that explains it | 高いわけだ |
| polite | 高いわけです |
| after a na-adjective | 静かなわけだ |
| after a noun | 学生というわけだ |
| not necessarily | 高いわけではない |
| not necessarily (spoken) | 高いわけじゃない |
| there is no way | 高いわけがない |
The rules one by one
わけ attaches like a noun: plain form before it, and な after a na-adjective.
それで説明が上手なわけだ。That is why she explains things so well.
わけだ draws a conclusion from facts already known; it is not a plain "because".
毎日練習しているのか。上手なわけだ。She practises every day? No wonder she is good.
わけではない softens: it denies one conclusion and leaves room for a "but".
肉が嫌いなわけではないが、あまり食べない。It is not that I dislike meat, but I do not eat much of it.
With いつも, みんな or ぜんぶ, わけではない means "not always" or "not all".
高い店がいつもおいしいわけではない。Expensive restaurants are not always good.
わけがない rules something out completely.
あの真面目な人が嘘をつくわけがない。There is no way someone as earnest as that would lie.
A closer look
わけだ and のだ
Both わけだ and のだ explain, and they are often interchangeable in a dictionary. The difference is in where the explanation comes from. のだ offers background the listener did not have: 熱があるんです, "(the thing is,) I have a temperature". わけだ presents a result that anyone could work out from what is already known.
This is why わけだ so often follows なるほど, それで or どうりで, and why it can sound slightly lecturing when used about yourself: it implies that the listener should have been able to see it too. というわけで at the start of a sentence is the everyday "so, for that reason" that closes an explanation and moves on.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the pattern is わけにはいかない
it means "I cannot (allow myself to)", for social or moral reasons — not "there is no way".
明日は試験だから、休むわけにはいかない。There is an exam tomorrow, so I cannot take the day off.
Here わけ is a reason one could give, and "it does not go" says that no acceptable reason exists. It is a separate pattern, treated at N2.
How to spot it
- わけだ
- わけです
- わけではない
- わけじゃない
- わけがない
- というわけ
- どうりで
Example sentences
窓が開いている。寒いわけだ。The window is open. No wonder it is cold.
彼女は十年京都に住んでいたので、京都に詳しいわけです。She lived in Kyoto for ten years, which is why she knows it so well.
お金があれば幸せになれるというわけではない。Having money does not necessarily make you happy.
日本人なら誰でも寿司が好きなわけではありません。Not every Japanese person likes sushi.
初めてなんだから、うまくできるわけがないよ。It is your first time — there is no way you could get it right straight away.
行きたくないわけじゃないけど、今日は疲れているんだ。It is not that I do not want to go, but I am tired today.
8 more example sentences
円が安くなったから、旅行者が増えたわけだ。The yen got weaker, so it makes sense that there are more tourists.
つまり、来月から家賃が上がるわけですね。So what you are saying is that the rent goes up from next month.
毎朝5時に起きるの？眠いわけだよ。You get up at five every morning? No wonder you are sleepy.
有名な大学を出たからといって、仕事ができるわけではない。Graduating from a famous university does not automatically make you good at your job.
全部分かったわけではありませんが、大体理解できました。I did not understand everything, but I got the general idea.
あの店が日曜日に閉まっているわけがない。There is no way that shop is closed on a Sunday.
こんな難しい問題、子どもに解けるわけがないでしょう。A child could never solve a problem this hard.
というわけで、今日の会議は中止です。So, for that reason, today's meeting is cancelled.
Worth knowing (1)
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わけ as an ordinary noun
Outside these patterns わけ simply means "reason" or "sense": わけが分からない is "it makes no sense", わけを話す "to explain why". In this sense it is sometimes written with its kanji, 訳; in the grammar patterns it is almost always kana.
彼の話はわけが分からない。What he says makes no sense.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The speaker wants to say "it is not that I dislike studying — I just have no time". That is a soft denial, わけではない. わけがない means "there is no way I dislike it", which is far too strong and clashes with the ただ that follows. One particle, は against が, separates "not necessarily" from "certainly not".
わけだ concludes, わけではない softens, わけがない rules out.
Your turn
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