connective N3 common casualpolitewritten
そこで — and so
そこで
Meaning
- and so / thereupon / that's why I ~ — given the situation just described, the speaker took a deliberate next action
Key sentence
道に迷った。そこで、交番で道を聞いた。
I got lost. So I asked for directions at the police box.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence-initial (after describing a situation) | [situation]。そこで、[deliberate action]。 | 時間がなかった。そこで、タクシーに乗った。 |
Examples
客から苦情が増えた。そこで、店長は対応を見直した。
Complaints from customers increased. So the manager reviewed how they were handled.
薬が効かなかった。そこで、別の病院へ行った。
The medicine didn't work, so I went to a different hospital.
Easily confused with
だから だから states a logical result or conclusion ('therefore'), and that result can be any kind of outcome; そこで introduces a deliberate *action the speaker took* in response to the situation — almost always a willed move, not a natural consequence. それで それで is broader 'and so / and then', linking to any following result including feelings or states; そこで specifically marks a purposeful action taken because of the situation.
Notes
- The second clause normally describes a volitional action — そこで泣いた ('so I cried') is odd because crying isn't a deliberate response. For such results use それで.
See そこで in real sentences
Jengo shows そこで the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.