何の言葉22 きっかけ (kikkake)

Hey hey.. remember the time you started learning Japanese? 💭 

Why did you start?

I started learning when I was ~12 years old when my sisters were into anime and I followed them to join a Japanese class after school.

It was really fun learning hiragana and katakana as a kid - memorizing new symbols! あいうえお～

Since then, I took the JLPT, traveled Japan, made new friends and still enjoy learning Japanese til today — a big reason why I am writing this newsletter 😊

What about you? What’s your reason or turning point?

What does きっかけ mean?

きっかけ is the “trigger”, “reason” or “motivation” behind why you started or did something.

More specifically,

• it often refers to a pivotal event in your life that led to a life-changing situation.

• it can refer to both good or bad things.

• it’s close to “reason” or “cause”, but sometimes used to refer to “the point of how something started/changed”.

How to use きっかけ in a sentence:

2 common ways to use it:

• (reason)がきかっけで、(situation)した。
  ^{~ga kikkake de, ~ shita.}
  Because of (reason), (situation) happened.

• (situation)は、(reason)がきっかけだった。
  ^{~wa, ~ga kikkake datta.}
  The (situation), was because of (reason).

For example,

• 留学がきっかけで、アメリカに住みたいと思った。
  ^{Ryuugaku ga kikkake de, amerika ni sumitai to omotta.}
  Because of my study abroad experience, it made me think about living in America.

• あの夫婦の仲が悪いのは、夫の浮気がきっかけだった。
  ^{Ano fuufu no naka ga warui nowa, otto no uwaki ga kikkake datta.}
  That couple’s strained relationship started with the husband’s cheating.

Also you can use it after long explanation about a situation.

• 大学生の時、ラテアートが有名なカフェでバイトしてたんだ。それがきっかけで、バリスタになろうと思った。
  ^{Daigakusei no toki, rate aato ga yuumei na kafe de baito shiteta nda. Sore ga kikkake de, barisuta ni narou to omotta.}
  When I was a university student, I worked part-time at a cafe which was famous for latte art. Because of that, I wanted to become a barista.

How to write きっかけ in Kanji?

We never write きっかけ in Kanji (切っ掛け) especially for daily conversation, so you don’t need to remember it.

Similar English phrases:

“trigger”
“reason”
“motivation”
“turning point”

 💡 Interview someone with きっかけ

きっかけ is one of the words which is often used in interviews.

1. 日本語を勉強しようと思ったきっかけは？
   ^{Nihongo wo benkyou shiyou to omotta kikkake wa?}
   What made you start learning Japanese?
   

2. 彼とは、アニメのイベントがきっかけで仲良くなったんだ。
   ^{Kare to wa anime no ibento ga kikkake de nakayoku nattanda.}
   I become friends with him because of an anime event.
   

3. このボランティア活動が、人々が歴史に興味を持つきっかけになったらうれしいです。
   ^{Kono borantia katsudou ga, hitobito ga rekishi ni kyoumi wo motsu kikkake ni nattara ureshii desu.}
   It would be great if this volunteer activity could motivate people to take an interest in history.
   

4. それがきっかけで、状況はどんどん良くなった。
   ^{Sore ga kikkake de, joukyou wa dondon yoku natta.}
   Because of that, things started to get better and better.
   

5. 何がきっかけで二人はケンカしてるの？
   ^{（Nani ga kikkake de futari wa kenka shiteru no?）}
   What was the trigger that caused you two to fight?

Similar Japanese phrases:

始まり（hajimari）
理由（riyuu）
原因（genin）