をきっかけに details
with N as the trigger; N is what sparked it
友達に誘われたのをきっかけに、ヨガを始めたんだ。
tomodachi ni sasowareta no o kikkake ni, yoga o hajimeta n da.
A friend inviting me was what got me started doing yoga. casual
大きな地震をきっかけに、防災への関心が高まった。
ookina jishin o kikkake ni, bousai e no kanshin ga takamatta.
The big earthquake was what sparked greater interest in disaster preparedness. neutral
- formal
- colloquial
Examples
with N as the trigger — an incidental event or chance remark that sets something off
友達に誘われたのをきっかけに、ヨガを始めたんだ。
tomodachi ni sasowareta no o kikkake ni, yoga o hajimeta n da.
A friend inviting me was what got me started doing yoga. casual
大きな地震をきっかけに、防災への関心が高まった。
ookina jishin o kikkake ni, bousai e no kanshin ga takamatta.
The big earthquake was what sparked greater interest in disaster preparedness. neutral
本製品は、海外からの問い合わせをきっかけとして開発が始まりました。
honseihin wa, kaigai kara no toiawase o kikkake to shite kaihatsu ga hajimarimashita.
This product's development began after an inquiry from overseas set it in motion. formal
Formation
{N}をきっかけにattaches to noun
Variant notes
- をきっかけとして — とする-based tail reads more written — reports, essays, retrospective narration; interchangeable in meaning with をきっかけに.
- がきっかけで — swaps the frame so きっかけ itself is the subject — 出会いがきっかけで結婚した; common in spoken narration and casual retelling, where をきっかけに reads a touch more deliberate and written.
Related patterns
Similar
Both mean "with X as what set it off," and をきっかけに takes deliberately chosen triggers just as readily as chance ones (結婚をきっかけに仕事を辞めた) — the real axis is register and WEIGHT, not intent. を契機に is written/formal and wants both the trigger and the resulting change to be consequential (歴史的な事件を契機に法改正が進んだ), while をきっかけに is register-neutral and happily takes a trivial, everyday trigger with a small effect (友人の一言をきっかけに笑ってしまった) — pin that same small trigger onto を契機に (？一言を契機に笑ってしまった) and it reads as bathos, self-importantly formal for something that minor.