adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten
なぜか — for some reason
なぜか
Meaning
- for some reason / somehow — something is so, but the speaker can't say why
Key sentence
なぜか今日は早く目が覚めた。
For some reason I woke up early today.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb, before the clause it colours | なぜか + clause | なぜか涙が出た (somehow tears came) |
Examples
その曲を聞くと、なぜか懐かしくなる。
When I hear that song, I somehow feel nostalgic.
なぜか彼のことだけは信用できない。
For some reason, he's the only one I can't trust.
Easily confused with
Notes
- なんだか is a softer near-synonym ('somehow, sort of'); なぜか points more squarely at an unexplained cause.
See なぜか in real sentences
Jengo shows なぜか the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.