せい、おかげ, and ため

Table of Contents

This page explains 3 words used to assign responsibility:

せい – (Bad)
おかげ- (Good)
ため (Neutral)

せい

Fault (Bad)

せい is a noun that assigns blame. It has a negative connotation. You cannot use it for good things.

Examples

彼のせいで残業することになった
It’s his fault I have to do overtime.
毒のせいでフグを調理するのは難しい
Because of the poison, it’s hard to prepare blowfish.
電車が遅れたせいで、間に合わなかった
Because the train was late, I didn’t make it in time.
何もかも彼のせいだ
Everything was his fault.

おかげ

Fault (Positive)
It wouldn’t have been possible without…

おかげ is the opposite of せい, assigning responsibility for a good result.
おかげで somewhat includes a meaning of “thank you“. It should be used when thanking people.

Examples

Hakushiki Japaneseのおかげで日本語を話せるようになった
I became able to speak Japanese because of hakushiki Japanese.
母のおかげで、父をうまく騙せた
Thankfully, I was able to trick my father because of my mother.
皆のおかげで、ここまで来られた
I was able to come this far because of everyone.
全ては君がいたおかげだ
Everything was because you were there.

ため

Fault (Neutral)

For a neutral “cause” word, we can use ために (Formal). For regular speech, use から or ので
This is not usually used with people to assign direct fault, but can be used with verbs about people.

Examples

かれのために遅れた
We were late for him (did it for him).
彼が遅いために遅れた
We were late because he was slow.
雨のために遅れた
I was late because of the rain.
心配のために疲れた
I’m tired from all the worrying.
事故のために電車が遅れた
The train was late because of an accident.