English–Japanese

“because” in Japanese

Japanese

Alsoなぜなら (nazenara) · もの (mono)

Pronunciation

Romajidatte

Example

「どうして休むのですか」「だって、熱があります」。dō shi te yasu mu no de su ka da tte netsu ga a ri ma su

Why are you taking the day off? Because I have a fever.

Illustration for だって (because)

How to say “because” in Japanese

“Because” in Japanese is だって (datte).

Marks the following statement as the speaker's reason or justification, often with a conversational tone.

Full entry for だって: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with だって

その映画は見ません、だって長すぎます。so no ei ga wa mi ma se n da tte naga su gi ma su

I will not watch that movie because it is too long.

Tips for using だって

  • In conversational Japanese, だって (datte) often introduces a speaker's reason as an excuse or protest, so it can sound more emotional than neutral から (kara).

Other Japanese words for “because”

今日は早く帰ります。なぜなら、明日は試験だからです。kyō wa haya ku kae ri ma su na ze na ra asu wa shi ken da ka ra de su

I will go home early today because I have an exam tomorrow.

だって、眠いもの、もう寝ます。da tte nemu i mo no mō ne ma su

Because I am sleepy, I am going to bed.

“because” in other languages