ことからfrom the fact that; which is why
A written "because". It gives a fact as the grounds for a name or a conclusion: why something is called what it is, or how we know something.
a name
You can see Mt Fuji from it, which is why this slope is called Fujimi-zaka, "Fuji-view slope".
a conclusion
The windows are fogged up on the inside, which suggests that the humidity indoors is high.
How to form it
Plain form + ことから
A な-adjective takes な or である: 静かなことから, 便利であることから. A noun takes である: 島であることから.
- Before it
- A fact anyone can check: what a place looks like, where it is, what was found there.
- After it
- A name (〜と呼ばれている, こう呼ばれている), a conclusion (〜と考えられる, 〜とわかる), or how something came about (〜ようになった).
- Tone
- Detached. A fact is laid out and something is drawn from it.
- Where you'll meet it
- Guidebooks, museum labels, encyclopedias, news reports. Hardly ever in conversation.
In use
You get a clear view of the night sky there, which is why the park was named Hoshimi Park, "Stargazing Park".
The fine scratches on its surface suggest that this vessel was used in daily life.
The area is close to the port and handy for shipping, which is how warehouses came to gather there.
Two things to know
It isn't an everyday "because"
It doesn't give a reason of your own for what you do, plan or ask. For that the word is から or ので.
Not said: 疲れた
(I'm tired, so I'm going home early.)
疲れたので、早く帰ります.
な before it, not だ
こと is a noun, so a な-adjective joins it with な, as it would any noun. だ belongs to plain から: 静かだから, but 静かなことから.
The area around it is quiet, which is why this building is used as a research facility.
Close neighbours
ため・ためにN4
The formal "because" of notices and news: a cause and what it led to. Nothing is being named or worked out.
Trains are running late because of the snow.
という理由でN3
The reason someone gave for a decision. You report it without vouching for it.
The restaurant turned us away on the grounds that it couldn't confirm our reservation.
Check yourself
1Which sentence sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
Sometimes こと and から just happen to meet: "thing" and "from".
Let's start with what we can do.
More sentences
Because several records agree, it was determined that the event actually occurred.
Because the road is narrow, large vehicles are not allowed to use it.
Since the parts used in the two machines follow the same standard, the machines were probably manufactured at the same factory.