connective N2 common casualpolitewritten
〜がきっかけで — triggered by ~
〜がきっかけで ・ がきっかけで
Meaning
- triggered by ~ / ~ was what set it off / it started when ~ — names the specific incident that prompted a change or new development
Key sentence
一本の映画がきっかけで、日本語を学び始めた。
A single film was what got me started learning Japanese.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun, or a nominalized clause (の/こと) | Nがきっかけで / [clause]のがきっかけで | 留学がきっかけで / 病気になったのがきっかけで |
Examples
彼との出会いがきっかけで、人生が変わった。
Meeting him was the trigger that changed my life.
ささいな喧嘩がきっかけで、二人は別れた。
A trivial quarrel was what led the two to break up.
Easily confused with
Notes
- きっかけ is the noun 'trigger/occasion'; をきっかけに(して) is a near-equivalent that frames the same incident as something one deliberately seizes upon.
See 〜がきっかけで in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜がきっかけで the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.