connective N1 uncommon written
〜を機に — taking ~ as an opportunity
〜を機に ・ をきに
Meaning
- taking ~ as an opportunity / using ~ as the occasion to ~ — a particular event becomes the prompt for a new action or change
Key sentence
結婚を機に、田舎へ引っ越した。
Taking marriage as the occasion, we moved to the countryside.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (an event / turning point) | N + を機に（formal を機として） | 退職を機に / 開店を機として |
When: Written and formal; the main clause is a deliberate new action, often a positive life change.
Examples
退職を機に、長年の夢だった旅に出た。
Taking retirement as the opportunity, he set off on the trip he'd long dreamed of.
子供の誕生を機に、たばこをやめた。
On the occasion of my child's birth, I quit smoking.
When you can't use it
- The trigger is a specific event or turning point; the main clause is a deliberate new action or change, not an involuntary outcome.
Easily confused with
を契機に を契機に is the longer, more formal/literary equivalent leaning toward weighty change; を機に is shorter and a touch more everyday. Largely interchangeable. がきっかけで がきっかけで neutrally names what triggered something (often small or unplanned); を機に frames the event as a deliberately seized opportunity to start something.
See 〜を機に in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜を機に 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.