わけだ (wakeda) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Conclusion

The expression わけだ (wake da) means reason, meaning, conclusion, cause, circumstance.

Despite its literal translation, わけ is used in many expressions to indicate a conclusion based on logical reasoning or an obvious situation. In this sense, わけだ is similar to other expressions such as:

• ことになる

• はずだ

In this post we learn more about the meaning of わけだ, how it is formed, and when わけだ is used through real example sentences.

Let's also see the difference between わけだ, ことになる, はずだ.

How わけだ is formed

わけだ can be used later with nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Before adjectives in な you need to add な, while before a noun you add の:

The origin of わけだ comes from the kanji 訳(わけ), which means reason, cause, meaning. In general, with わけだ the Hiragana version is preferred.

訳(わけ) should not be confused with the reading やく (訳(やく)), which means translation.

The term という can be added before わけだ. という replaces の for nouns, and makes it unnecessary to add な for adjectives in な:

How and when to use わけだ

わけ is used to draw a conclusion following a logical reasoning based on observed facts.

わけだ indicates that, given a series of premises, a certain situation is concluded and expressed by logical deduction.

In this simple example the premise is that it snowed (real observation). Given this fact, it can be concluded that it must necessarily be cold. This is taken as a logical deduction: it can't be that it's snowing if it's not cold, so it must be cold.

The use of わけだ is considered as subjective in a certain sense. Even if the deduction is based on real facts, the expressed conclusion depends on the speaker's point of view.

As we can see from the example, the conclusion, while logically plausible given the premise, is still subjective, based on the speaker's point of view and ideas.

Assuming the conclusion based on facts

One of the uses of わけだ is to express an assumption based on observed facts. In this case we are not sure of the conclusion, but we assume based on what we could see.

This use of わけだ shows how the expression is generally subjective: the conclusion I take depends on my personal point of view, not necessarily on an objective reality valid for everyone.

Express something that has been clarified

Another use of わけだ is to express something that became obvious after witnessing or understanding something. In this sense, a literal translation can be now I understand why ..., now it is clear ..., it makes sense that ....

わけだ and the adverb 道どう理りで, which means it is clear, it makes sense that, are often used together.

General and always valid realities

わけだ is also used to express an idea that is always considered valid, obvious. In this case, わけだ underlines how what has been indicated has logically been demonstrated before, and therefore should always be valid and obvious to everyone.

わけだ - In other words

Another translation of わけだ can be in other words. In these cases, わけだ clarifies an idea by showing an analogy to something that is obvious.

のだ and わけだ

The expression のだ (or んだ) has a use similar to わけだ, but what it implies is different:

• わけ: Logic conclusion (based on facts)

• のだ: Explanation of a fact (something that we notice or think)

わけだ and はずだ

わけだ is often compared to another expression: はずだ.

While わけだ indicates a logical conclusion, はずだ on the contrary does not imply any particular reasoning based on real facts: はずだ simply indicates what one expects based on one's knowledge.

In this sense the translation of はずだ is more like should, I expect that, from what I know ...:

• はずだ emphasizes the speaker's certainty that something should be as indicated

• わけだ emphasizes the fact that what is expressed arises from a logical reasoning that is always valid (within the limits of what is observed)

わけだ and ことになる

Also the expression ことになる is very similar to わけだ. Like わけだ, ことになる also indicates a logical conclusion. Unlike わけだ, however, ことになる indicates an extremely objective reality: something that is in a certain way for everyone in any case, without it being based on a personal conclusion.

わけがない - Strong denial

わけ can also be paired with the verb ない (not to exist). The resulting expression is わけがない (with the addition of the particle が to connect わけ and ない).

This expression means it is impossible that, there is no reason why. As can be seen from the translation, this expression conveys a strong sense of negation, there is no reasonable conclusion, so it is not possible.

Examples of わけだ