ということは details
Examples
which means; so in other words — turns what was just observed or said into the premise of the speaker's inference
電気が消えてるってことは、もう帰ったんだね。
denki ga kieterutte koto wa, mou kaetta n da ne.
The lights are off, which means she's already gone home. casual
締め切りが来週ということは、今週中に下書きを終わらせないといけない。
shimekiri ga raishuu to iu koto wa, konshuujuu ni shitagaki o owarasenai to ikenai.
The deadline being next week means I have to finish the draft within this week. neutral
在庫が半分に減ったということは、想定より需要が大きいということでございます。
zaiko ga hanbun ni hetta to iu koto wa, soutei yori juyou ga ookii to iu koto de gozaimasu.
The stock halving means demand is greater than we projected. formal
Formation
plain clause + ということはattaches to plain clause
Notes
sentence — premise in front, conclusion behind. Sentence-initial
「ということは、…」 alone works as a reply to what someone else just said.
Related patterns
Similar
The two halves of one inference — ということは names the premise at the front of the sentence, わけだ stamps the conclusion at the end (道理で〜わけだ); one sentence can carry both (返事がないということは、断られたわけだ), which two real synonyms could not.
とすると／としたら supposes the premise for the sake of argument and leaves it unclaimed; ということは takes the premise as already established — it is normally said about a fact just observed (明かりが消えている), where とすると is normally said about something merely granted.
Lookalikes
One particle apart, and pointing opposite ways — ということ(だ) CLOSES a sentence by relaying a report or a conclusion (中止ということだ), while ということは OPENS one, holding up the premise for an inference still to come; read the は as a plain topic marker on the nominalizer and the "which means" link disappears.
Same meaning
so that means; that's why — drawing a conclusion
| Pattern | Attaches to |
|---|---|
| わけだ |