Blame and credit with 〜せいで and 〜おかげで

Usage Notes

The cause can be a person, a thing, or a situation, and the speaker can blame themself. Crediting yourself is possible but can sound like a boast. After せいで or おかげで, the sentence reports what happened or how things are. It doesn’t go on to state the speaker’s own wish or plan, or to ask the listener to do something. For a reason behind a request, use から: 暑(あつ)いから窓(まど)を開(あ)けて, “it’s hot, so open the window”.

Because they carry the speaker’s feelings, these words are at home in conversation. Objective writing, such as news articles, usually names causes with ため or によって instead.

Two set phrases use the same words. 気(き)のせい is “just your imagination”, as in 気(き)のせいだよ, “you’re imagining it”. おかげさまで, roughly “thanks to you”, is a polite set phrase, often used to answer when someone asks how you or your family are doing: おかげさまで元気(げんき)です, “I’m doing well, thank you”.

Formation

Giving Credit with おかげで

おかげで credits a cause with a good result. In ⒶのおかげでⒷ, Ⓐ is the cause and Ⓑ is what turned out well. When Ⓐ is someone’s help, the sentence doubles as thanks: 皆(みな)さんのおかげで、無事(ぶじ)終(お)わりました, “thanks to all of you, everything went smoothly”.

The cause doesn’t have to be a person. 晴(は)れたおかげで、いい写真(しゃしん)がたくさん撮(と)れた is “thanks to the clear weather, I got lots of good photos”.

At the start of a sentence, そのおかげで, “thanks to that”, points back to a cause just mentioned. In casual speech, the その often drops, leaving just おかげで.

Example 1 of 2: Thank you for inviting me with お招きいただきありがとうございました

Example 1 of 2

As part of their training, Akari, Aika, and Alice host a Festa del Redentore dinner. After, the guests gather before them.

アリシア:

「本日(ほんじつ)は宴(うたげ)にお招(まね)きいただきありがとうございました」

“Thank you for inviting me to the party today.”

「３人(さんにん)のおかげでとても楽(たの)しい…レデントーレが過(す)ごせました」

“Thanks to the three of you, I had a really fun time at the *Redentore*.”

View Full Example

As part of their training, Akari, Aika, and Alice have hosted a Festa del Redentore dinner, and the guests are thanking them as the evening ends. ３人(さんにん)のおかげで credits the three hosts, and 楽(たの)しい…レデントーレが過(す)ごせました is the good result: a really fun Redentore. Here, おかげで works as a thank-you.

Example 2 of 2: Doing nothing but slack off with 〜てばっか

Example 2 of 2

Yui, Sacchan, and Kotoha are making a video to introduce the Colors and the people of their town. After filming at a few local shops, they come to the police box by the zoo, where Officer Saitou works.

「動物園(どうぶつえん)前(まえ)交番(こうばん)」

“Zoo-Front Police Box”

さっちゃん:

「あいつは斎藤(さいとう)」

“That guy is Saitou.”

「斎藤(さいとう)は私(わたし)たちのおかげで平和(へいわ)だからサボってばっかだ」

“Thanks to us, everything's peaceful, so Saitou does nothing but slack off.”

「だからたまには働(はたら)かせてやる」

“So for once, we're going to make him work.”

View Full Example

Sacchan is introducing Officer Saitou for the video the girls are making about their town. 私(わたし)たちのおかげで credits the girls themselves with the good result, 平和(へいわ), “peace”. This おかげで is a boast, not thanks.

Laying Blame with せいで

せいで is the mirror image of おかげで. It names the cause of a bad result, and when the cause is a person, it puts the blame on them: あなたのせいで失敗(しっぱい)しちゃった, “I failed because of you”. The blame is usually plain to hear.

Speakers can blame themselves too. 寝(ね)る前(まえ)にコーヒーを飲(の)んだせいで、眠(ねむ)れなかった is “I couldn’t sleep because I drank coffee before bed”. The cause can also be something nobody controls: 大雨(おおあめ)のせいで、花火大会(はなびたいかい)が中止(ちゅうし)になった, “the fireworks show was canceled because of the heavy rain”. At the start of a sentence, そのせいで is “because of that”.

せい is used mostly, though not always, for bad results. A “neutral” せい also links a cause to an outcome without blame, and a welcome outcome can follow an unwelcome cause. For a good cause and a good result, though, use おかげで.

Example 1 of 2: Because of that guy with 〜せいで

Example 1 of 2

Ran, Conan, and Mouri are visiting an old art museum. Its new owner, Manaka, is closing it in ten days, and the director, Ochiai, explains that it will be torn down to build a hotel. The previous owner sold the museum on the promise that it would stay open, but Manaka announced the hotel plan as soon as he bought it. Iijima, a young staff member, mutters that it’s all Manaka’s fault.

飯島(いいじま):

「あ、あいつのせいで50年(ねん)の伝統(でんとう)を誇(ほこ)るこの美術館(びじゅつかん)が…」

“Because of th-that guy, this museum, with its proud fifty-year history…”

「くっ…」

“Ngh…”

落合(おちあい):

「飯島(いいじま)君(くん)…」

“Iijima…”

View Full Example

Iijima works at an old art museum that its new owner, Manaka, plans to tear down for a hotel. あいつのせいで puts the blame for that squarely on Manaka. Iijima breaks off at この美術館(びじゅつかん)が… before saying the bad result out loud, but everyone knows it: the museum will be torn down.

Example 2 of 2: Keeping a museum from shutting down with 事件

Example 2 of 2

Following the solving of a murder case, Detective Mouri reads an article about the museum where the murder took place.

蘭(らん):

「へーーー　あの美術館(びじゅつかん)続(つづ)けることになったんだ…」

“Wow... So they decided to keep the art museum open after all...”

毛利(もうり):

「ああ…　事件(じけん)のせいで美術館(びじゅつかん)を存続(そんぞく)させようという市民(しみん)の声(こえ)が上(あ)がったからな…」

“Yeah... Because of the incident, there was a public outcry to keep the art museum open...”

View Full Example

Later in the same story, Manaka is murdered at the museum. With the case solved, Mouri reads in the paper that the museum will stay open after all. 事件(じけん)のせいで names the murder as the cause, and the result is 声(こえ)が上(あ)がった: citizens spoke up to keep the museum going. Keeping the museum open isn’t a bad result, so this せいで doesn’t blame anyone. It fits because the cause itself, a murder, is unwelcome. 事件(じけん)のおかげで would sound as if the murder had done the museum a favor.

Naming the Cause with せいだ and おかげだ

With だ or です at the end, the cause becomes the point of the sentence. The result comes first, either in an earlier sentence or as a clause with のは: 負(ま)けたのは私(わたし)のせいだ, “it’s my fault we lost”. 勝(か)てたのはみんなのおかげだ is “we won thanks to everyone”.

In conversation, the result often goes unsaid. 私(わたし)のせいだ is “it’s my fault”, and お前(まえ)のせいだ is “it’s your fault”. The negative, 〜のせいじゃない, is “it’s not ~’s fault”, and 誰(だれ)のせいでもない is “it’s nobody’s fault”.

おかげだ is a common way to pass credit on to others. When someone congratulates you, みんなのおかげだよ is “it’s all thanks to everyone”.

Maybe Because with せいか and おかげか

Putting か in place of で turns the cause into a guess: “maybe because” or “perhaps thanks to”. 年(とし)のせいか、最近(さいきん)疲(つか)れやすくなった is “maybe it’s my age, but I tire easily lately”. お守(まも)りのおかげか、落(お)ち着(つ)いて話(はな)せた is “maybe thanks to the charm, I could speak calmly”.

せいか is looser than せいで. The result is often bad, but it doesn’t have to be. 年(とし)が近(ちか)いせいか、話(はな)しやすかった is “maybe because we’re close in age, they were easy to talk to”.

In speech, the guess often ends the sentence as 〜せいかな or 〜おかげかな, “maybe it’s because of ~”. 気(き)のせいか is “maybe it’s just me, but…”.

Sarcastic おかげで

おかげで can also come before a bad result. Then the “thanks” is sarcastic, like English “thanks a lot”: 君(きみ)のおかげで、何(なに)もかも失敗(しっぱい)しちゃった, “thanks to you, everything went wrong”. 残業(ざんぎょう)が多(おお)いのは上司(じょうし)のおかげだ is “all this overtime is thanks to my boss”.

Sarcastic おかげで can follow てくれた, which normally presents someone’s action as a favor. 間違(まちが)った道(みち)を教(おし)えてくれたおかげで、倍(ばい)の時間(じかん)がかかったよ is “thanks to you telling me the wrong way, it took twice as long”.

Compared with せいで, sarcastic おかげで can sound half joking. せいで is the sharper complaint.

Blaming Someone with 〜のせいにする

ⒶをⒷのせいにする is “blame Ⓐ on Ⓑ”. It reports who someone holds responsible: 課長(かちょう)は失敗(しっぱい)を部下(ぶか)のせいにしない, “the section chief doesn’t blame their subordinates for failures”. The bad result can be a clause with の: 遅(おく)れたのを電車(でんしゃ)のせいにした, “they blamed the train for being late”.

The speaker often thinks the blame is misplaced. 人(ひと)のせいにするな, “don’t blame other people”, is a common rebuke. In the passive, 〜のせいにされる is “get blamed for it”.

Further Reading

• 〜せいで, 日本語文型バンク (NINJAL) (ninjal.ac.jp)
• 〜おかげで, 日本語文型バンク (NINJAL) (ninjal.ac.jp)
• 文法を楽しく「表現意図 -理由-」, 日本語教育通信 (Japan Foundation) (jpf.go.jp)
• せいだ/せいで/せいか, 教科書を作ろう (Japan Foundation) (kyozai.jpf.go.jp)

Related Grammar

• Because with 〜から
  • から gives a reason without blame or credit. Unlike せいで and おかげで, it can lead into a request, a suggestion, or the speaker's decision.
• Objective reason with 〜ので
  • ので explains a reason calmly. It doesn't say whether the result is good or bad.
• Purpose and cause with 〜ために
  • Cause ため(に) names a cause without judging it, mostly in writing.
• Cause and means with 〜によって and 〜による
  • によって is the formal, neutral way to say what brought a result about.
• Ways to say thank you in Japanese
  • The thank-you page covers おかげさまで alongside other ways of expressing gratitude.
• Receiving kindness with 〜てくれる
  • てくれたおかげで credits someone's favor. With a bad result, the same words turn sarcastic.