から and ので
から and ので both indicate the reason for the next statement. Any verb tense may be used before them.
から
Reason, so B.
Verb/いAdjectiveからB
Noun/なAdjectiveだからB
から simply connects a reason to its effect. It is slightly subjective.
な adjectives and nouns need a だ or です before から and a な before ので。
Examples
- 私はさるだから犬が嫌いだ。- I’m a monkey, so (of course) I hate dogs.
- 明日は仕事があるから、早寝する。- I have work tomorrow, so I’m going to bed early.
- 犬はきらいから公園に行かない – I hate dogs, so I’m not going to the park.
If you forget to say the reason, you can add it later.
- 犬がきらい。さるだから – I hate dogs. Because I’m a monkey.*
*This is a reference to 犬猿の仲 – “Get along like dogs and monkeys” Japanese saying.
See also から, ~てから
ので
That’s why B
Verb/いAdjectiveのでB
Noun/なAdjectiveなのでB
ので means the same thing as から, but is more objective. It is preferred in academic or objective writing.
Because of this it is slightly more formal than から。
な adjectives and nouns must have a な before ので.
Examples
- 速いので、間に合う。- (it’s) fast, that’s why we’ll make it in time.
- 夜なので、静だ。 – It’s night time, that’s why it’s quiet.
- サボテンは砂漠の植物なので、水が少なくても大丈夫だ。
Cactuses are desert plants, that’s why they are fine without much water.
Multiple Reasons
If you have multiple reasons, you should use the て form to connect them:
- 忙しくて、金もなかったから行かなかった – I was busy and had no money so I didn’t go.
It is not correct to to use から/ので twice in a row in a sentence.
- 彼が好きだから時間もあったから行きたい – Because I like him, I had time because I wanted to go. ✖
See also し
Politeness agreement
In Japanese its ok to get more polite as you talk, but not to get less polite. This means that you are free to make the reason polite, but if you do so, you must make the final verb polite as well. On the other hand, you are free to use an impolite reason + polite ending.
楽しかったからまたやりたいです。 – It was fun, so I want to do it again.のどがかわきましたから飲んだ。- I was thirsty, so I drank it ✖— strictly speaking, this has to be 飲みました。
のどがかわいたから飲みました。- I was thirsty, so I drank it. ○