からといって (karatoitte) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Not Necessarily

The expression からといって (kara to itte) means just because, not necessarily, even if.

からといって is used to criticize or give a negative opinion about an action or idea of the person we are talking to.

In this post we are learning more about the meaning of からといって, how it is formed, and when からといって is used through real example sentences.

How からといって is formed

The expression からといって follows verbs, adjectives, and nouns. However, before a noun or an adjective in な, you must add the copula だ:

からといって is made of:

• Particle から: indicates the origin of the criticism, given the fact that...it does not mean that...

• Particle と: used to quote what has been said previously, the fact that it has been said...does not mean that

• いって: Te form of the verb 言(い)う, which means to say

We can see how this expression literally means despite the fact that it has been said that....

How and when to use からといって

The expression からといって means just because（A）.... This expression is used to criticize an opinion or an idea of the person we are talking to.

Let's see an example to understand the meaning of からといって:

In this example からといって follows the verb 失(しつ)敗(ぱい)する (to fail) and indicates that failing once does not mean that you will fail again. からといって is used to criticize our interlocutor's idea that he will fail again no matter what, since he already failed once.

からといって is often found together with とは限(かぎ)らない, which is another expression meaning "not necessarily"

からといって can also be found together with another grammatical expression: わけではない

Criticize someone's idea

からといって is also used to criticize another person's idea or opinion. In this case we are telling or advising our interlocutor not to take a certain action just because we are in a certain condition.

Let's also see an example here:

In this case we are warning our interlocutor that it would be better not to give in to temptation just because it itches, because you risk to scratch yourself.

We therefore note the sense of criticism towards another person's action.

Examples of からといって