N2 — outside your level filter
なぜかというと
なぜかというとnaze ka to iu toN2neutral
the reason is — voices the listener's question, then answers it
今日は早めに帰るね。どうしてかというと、明日の朝がすごく早いからなんだ。
kyou wa hayame ni kaeru ne. doushite ka to iu to, ashita no asa ga sugoku hayai kara nan da.
I'm heading home early today. The reason being, I have a really early start tomorrow. casual
この方法をおすすめします。なぜかというと、失敗しても元に戻せるからです。
kono houhou o osusume shimasu. naze ka to iu to, shippai shite mo moto ni modoseru kara desu.
I recommend this method. The reason is that you can undo it if it goes wrong. neutral
All examples3
the reason is — announces an explanation for what was just said
今日は早めに帰るね。どうしてかというと、明日の朝がすごく早いからなんだ。
kyou wa hayame ni kaeru ne. doushite ka to iu to, ashita no asa ga sugoku hayai kara nan da.
I'm heading home early today. The reason being, I have a really early start tomorrow. casual
この方法をおすすめします。なぜかというと、失敗しても元に戻せるからです。
kono houhou o osusume shimasu. naze ka to iu to, shippai shite mo moto ni modoseru kara desu.
I recommend this method. The reason is that you can undo it if it goes wrong. neutral
弊社では紙の資料を廃止いたしました。なぜかと言いますと、保管にかかる負担が年々大きくなっていたからです。
heisha de wa kami no shiryou o haishi itashimashita. naze ka to iimasu to, hokan ni kakaru futan ga nennen ookiku natte ita kara desu.
We have done away with paper documents. The reason is that the burden of storing them was growing year on year. formal
How it's formed1
All forms3
どうしてかというとdoushitekatoiutocolloquial
The everyday spoken twin, for explaining to a friend or a child. どうして is the softer question word, and this shape rarely appears in writing.
なぜかといえばnazekatoiebaliterary
ば swapped in for と — written argument and speeches, alongside なぜならば.
なぜかと言いますとnazekatoiimasutoformal
Polite 言います in place of plain 言う, for talks and customer explanations.
Notes
hanging (なぜかというと、朝が早い).