Japanese with Manga

How the body was found with というわけなんです

Grammar Explanation: Logical conclusion with 〜わけだ

Kogoro speaks with a serious face, sweating, while Masayo stands beside him looking down.
名探偵コナン » Volume 20 » Page 132

Kogoro lost his ticket to Yoko Okino’s concert. A woman named Masayo gave him a spare on one condition, that he drive her to pick up her sister Mina, who hadn’t shown up. At the house they found the bathroom taped shut from the inside, forced the door, and found Mina dead with a cut wrist. Now Inspector Megure has arrived, and Kogoro tells him why he was there.

小五郎(こごろう):
「実(じつ)は全代(まさよ)さんに頼(たの)まれて美菜(みな)さんを車(くるま)で迎(むか)えに来(き)たところ、」
“You see, Masayo asked me to come pick up Mina in my car, and when we got here...”
「風呂場(ふろば)の異変(いへん)に気(き)づき中(なか)に入(はい)ったんですが、美菜(みな)さんはもう息絶(いきた)えていたというわけなんです…」
“...we noticed something wrong with the bathroom and went in, but Mina-san was already dead. That's how it happened...”

Key Points

1というわけなんです, “that’s how it happened”
  • わけだ presents a statement as making sense given the facts. With という before it, it sums up a whole account: everything Kogoro just said adds up to this situation.
  • なんです is polite explanatory のです. It presents the account as background the inspector needs, in a respectful register.
  • Without it, the line would just report that Mina was dead. With it, Kogoro tells Megure, “and that’s the whole story of how we found her.”
2来(き)たところ, “when I came”
  • Past tense ＋ ところ means “when I did X” and introduces what was found or what happened next. It often leads into something unexpected.
  • Here, coming to pick up Mina leads into the discovery in the next balloon.
3気(き)づき, the stem as a connector
  • 気(き)づき is the stem of 気(き)づく, “to notice”. In formal speech and writing, the stem can join clauses like the て-form: 気(き)づき中(なか)に入(はい)った means 気(き)づいて中(なか)に入(はい)った.
  • Kogoro uses it because he is giving a formal statement to the police.
4もう息絶(いきた)えていた, “had already died”
  • 息絶(いきた)える means “to breathe one’s last”. It’s a formal, softer way to say someone died.
  • 〜ていた describes the state they found: by the time they went in, she was already dead. もう stresses “already”.

Vocabulary

(Actually)

実(じつ)は introduces the truth, often something the listener did not know: “to tell the truth”.

(To ask)

頼(たの)む is to ask someone to do something, or to order something.

(Vehicle or wheel)

車(くるま) means a wheeled vehicle, especially a car. It can also mean a wheel or rotating mechanism.

(To meet)

迎(むか)える is to go and meet someone who is arriving. 迎えに来る means to come pick someone up.

(To come)

来(く)る means to come or move toward the speaker or the place being discussed.

(Place)

ところ is a place or spot. It also refers to a point in time or a certain aspect of something. It is also written 所(ところ).

(To notice)

気(き)づく means to notice something or become aware of it. It can also mean to come to after losing consciousness. It is also written 気付(きづ)く.

(Inside)

中(なか) is the inside of something, or the middle of a situation.

(To enter)

入(はい)る is to go into a place, or for something to be inside. It also means to join a club or school.

(Already)

もう means something has already happened, or with a negative, “no longer”. Before a number, it means “more”. Said alone, it shows frustration.

(To die)

息絶(いきた)える means to breathe one’s last, to die. It is a formal or literary way to describe the moment of death.

(Reason)

わけ is a reason or meaning. It also appears in grammar patterns such as わけがない, “there’s no way”, and わけにはいかない, “can’t very well”.

See Also

名探偵コナン © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.