Japanese word

経緯

Pronunciation

Romajikeii

Meaning

  • nouncircumstances

Example

事故の経緯を警察に説明します。ji ko no kei i o kei satsu ni setsu mei shi ma su

I will explain the circumstances of the accident to the police.

Illustration for 経緯 (circumstances)

More examples

問題が起きた経緯を順番に話します。mon dai ga o ki ta kei i o jun ban ni hana shi ma su

I will describe the sequence of events that led to the problem.

Core concept

Shows the connected circumstances and sequence of events leading to a particular outcome.

Common phrases

  • 経緯を説明するkei i o setsu mei su ru

    explain the circumstances

  • 経緯を聞くkei i o ki ku

    ask about the circumstances

  • 経緯をたどるkei i o ta do ru

    trace the sequence of events

Similar words

事情jijō: The facts and reasons surrounding a situation.
顛末tenmatsu: The full course of events, including how a matter ends.
成り行きnariyuki: The way a situation develops and reaches an outcome.

Definition in Japanese

ある事柄が起こり、現在に至るまでの事情や過程。a ru koto gara ga o ko ri gen zai ni ita ru ma de no ji jō ya ka tei

Word origin

経緯 (keii) is formed from 経 (kei, "warp") and 緯 (i, "weft"), terms for the threads that structure woven cloth.

Usage tips

  • The word 経緯 (keii) is useful when an explanation needs to cover the story behind an outcome rather than state the outcome alone.

Other meanings

  • sequence of eventsnoun

Word lists with this word