おかげで details
write + thanks to
kaku okage de
thanks to; because of N — crediting a welcome result to N
友達が手伝ってくれたおかげで、早く終わったよ。
tomodachi ga tetsudatte kureta okage de, hayaku owatta yo.
Thanks to my friend helping out, I finished early. casual
先生が丁寧に教えてくれたおかげで、試験に合格できた。
sensei ga teinei ni oshiete kureta okage de, shiken ni goukaku dekita.
Thanks to the teacher's careful teaching, I was able to pass the exam. neutral
Examples
thanks to; because of — a cause credited for a welcome result
友達が手伝ってくれたおかげで、早く終わったよ。
tomodachi ga tetsudatte kureta okage de, hayaku owatta yo.
Thanks to my friend helping out, I finished early. casual
先生が丁寧に教えてくれたおかげで、試験に合格できた。
sensei ga teinei ni oshiete kureta okage de, shiken ni goukaku dekita.
Thanks to the teacher's careful teaching, I was able to pass the exam. neutral
おかげさまで、無事にプロジェクトを終えることができました。
okagesamade, buji ni purojekuto o oeru koto ga dekimashita.
Thanks to everyone's support, we were able to bring the project to a successful close. formal
Formation
{V}おかげでattaches to dictionary formplain clause + おかげでattaches to plain clausei-adj + おかげで (安いおかげで)attaches to i-adjectivena-adj + なおかげでattaches to na-adjective{N}のおかげでattaches to noun
Notes
greeting opener/closer (おかげさまで元気です). Sentence-final おかげだ
works like せいだ. おかげで can turn sarcastic with a bad outcome
(寝坊したおかげで遅刻だ) — context, not grammar, signals the irony.
Related patterns
Similar
から reports a cause with no credit attached (電車が遅れたから、遅刻した is neutral cause-and-effect); おかげで casts that same cause as a benefit the speaker is grateful for — swapping おかげで for から drains the sentence of gratitude, leaving a bare fact.
Opposite
- せいでplain-antonym
Same Nの/な-adjな frame, opposite valence — せいで assigns blame for an unwanted outcome (雨のせいで中止になった), おかげで credits a welcome one (先生のおかげで合格した); swapping them into the wrong outcome reads as either backhanded thanks or misplaced blame.
Same meaning
thanks to; because of (credit vs. blame)
| Pattern | Attaches to |
|---|---|
| せいで |