Ways to say "so" and "therefore"
だから is the everyday "so", the one to start with: it opens a new sentence, and the reason is the sentence before it. The other words for "so" open a sentence the same way, and each says what comes next: what happened, what someone did about it, a conclusion. In conversation people say だから and それで.
| Form | What comes next | Where |
|---|---|---|
| だから | A decision, a suggestion, a request, or the result | Conversation |
| なので | The same four things, said more softly | Conversation, polite as much as casual |
| それで | What happened as a result | Conversation |
| そこで | What someone did about it | Reports, explanations, talks, meetings |
| そのため | What the cause led to | News, notices, announcements, reports |
| その結果 | How things ended up: often a number or a finding | Reports, news, presentations |
| すると | What happened next, or what you found | Stories, essays, explanations, polite conversation |
| したがって | The conclusion the facts lead to | Reports, essays, textbooks, lectures |
だから: so, that's why
Full pageだからN5
What follows だから can be a decision, a suggestion, a request, or simply the result. Its polite form is ですから.
I have an early morning tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now.
This road is under construction, so please take another route to the station.
With んだ or んですね at the end of the sentence, だから is "so that's why": you have just learned the reason for something you had noticed.
Tanaka lived in America for ten years, you know.
So that's why he is good at English.
In conversation many people also open a sentence with なので. It is a softer "so", but not for careful writing.
I have work from the morning tomorrow. So I'm going home early today.
それで: so, telling what happened
Full pageそれでN4
それで tells what happened as a result. It is how people explain themselves in conversation, polite or casual.
Why didn't you come yesterday?
I had a fever from the morning. So I was in bed all day.
As a question, それで？ asks the other person to go on: "and then?" With friends, それで is often just で.
with friends
Your test was today, right? So, how did it go?
だから or それで?
"So let's" and "so please" take だから. ましょう, よう and てください don't follow それで.
The rain got heavier, so the match was called off.
What happened.
It's raining hard, so let's stay home today.
What you suggest.
Where both fit, それで only tells what happened, and だから argues: "and that's why".
Where it goes wrong
The reason comes before だから, not after it. English speakers reach for it to say "because", and the sentence comes out backwards. "Because" is から, at the end of the reason.
Not said: 今日は
(I'm not going out today. Because it's raining.)
雨が降っているから、今日は出かけない.
A reply that opens with だから repeats something already explained: "like I said". It sounds impatient, and ですから is no gentler.
You're really not coming? Why?
Like I said, I have a test tomorrow.
The first time, B said 明日テストがあるから.
そこで, そのため, その結果: so, because of that, as a result
Full pageそこで・
そこで, そのため and その結果 can all follow the same sentence.
Inquiries suddenly increased, so we added two more staff to handle them.
What was done about it.
Inquiries suddenly increased. Because of that, replies began to take longer.
What it led to.
Inquiries suddenly increased. As a result, this month's sales were double last month's.
How things ended up.
After そこで comes something done on purpose: a decision, a request, a change. What simply happens can't follow it.
Not said: 台風で
(The typhoon stopped the trains, so many people were late for work.)
Nobody chose to be late.
The typhoon stopped the trains. Because of that, many people were late for work.
A cause, and what it led to.
そのため belongs to news, notices, announcements and reports. Talking to a friend, you would say それで or だから.
その結果 most often follows something that was done or went on for a while. Often そのため would fit too.
We looked into the cause. As a result, we found that the battery had gotten old.
すると: and then; so that means
Full pageすると・
When you tell what happened, すると is "and then": you did something, and then comes what happened or what you found. The next thing you chose to do can't follow it. To a friend, people say そしたら.
I got to the station, and there was a long line in front of the ticket gates.
What you found.
Not said: 駅に
(I got to the station. Then I bought a ticket.)
You chose to buy it. That is それから、切符を買った.
with friends
I opened the window, and then a bug got in.
In a reply, すると is "so that means…": you say what the other person's words must mean, mostly to check. そうすると has both meanings and is a little more spoken.
The bullet train leaves at seven and gets to Osaka at nine thirty.
So that means we'll be in time for the ten o'clock meeting.
したがって: therefore
Full pageしたがってN2
したがって is the "therefore" of written argument: the facts have been set out, and it brings in the conclusion they lead to. You meet it in reports, essays and math proofs, and hear it in lectures. With friends it sounds like a report.
The same result was obtained in three experiments. Therefore, it is hard to see it as mere coincidence.
Sounds odd: 明日は
I've got an early start tomorrow. Therefore, I'm going to bed now.
To a friend: だから、もう寝るね.
Often そのため would fit as well. そのため gives a cause and what it led to; したがって gives what you conclude from the facts.
Heavy snow has continued since last night. Because of that, all morning flights were canceled.
Canceled already, and the snow is why.
Heavy snow has continued since last night. Therefore, the afternoon flights are likely to be canceled too.
Not canceled yet. This is what the snow lets you conclude.
"In that case" and "because" at the start of a sentence
では・じゃあN5
"Then", "in that case": what you will do about what you have just heard.
It's raining. Then let's go by bus.
だってN3
At the start of a reply it gives your reason, in your own defense: "but", "because". For family and friends.
"Why did you turn it down?" "Because it was far too sudden."