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Reasoning and Judgment with わけ Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

The word 訳 (わけ) variously translates to “meaning, reason, cause, conclusion derived from reasoning, judgment based on context.” (Some of these definitions could be considered the opposite of each other, which is what marks the complexity of this word and the grammar patterns that derive from it.)

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Pseudo­noun：わけ

わけ means 'reason'.
-A predicate extender to explain a reason, cause, or situation.
-Reflects the speaker's logical conclusion based on what they've seen or heard.
-Can be used alone in a sentence (unlike はず) as it is a noun which means 'reason'.
 
In a sentence can translate to：
★ "No wonder that..."
★ "­Nat­ura­lly..."­
★ "­That's why..."­
★ "It means that..."
 
Similar Grammar:
はず = Expect­ation
わけ = Outright Conclusion (based on what the speaker saw or heard)
アナさんは6­年間も­日本に­【留学­】りゅ­うがく­したの­だから­日本語­が上手­なわけです。
アナさんは6­年間も­日本に­【留学­】りゅ­うがく­したの­だから­日本語­が上手­なわけです。
Because Anna studied abroad in Japan for 6 years, the reason her Japanese is good.
It should be that her Japanese is good.
 
FUNCTIONS:
1. Nomina­lizes verbs / verb clauses
2. Can be described by adjectives
3. Can be described by demons­trative pronouns
Ex. そのわけ "That reason...; In that case" "
そんな訳、こんな訳
4. Combines with other Nouns
(Noun) と言う訳：Much like a quotation
5. わけは/がない "­There's no reason..."­
わけじゃない "It's not that..."
6. Can interc­hange with はず in some situations
 
Formation:
Verb (casual)
+ 【訳】わけだ
い-Adj
な-Adj + な
Noun + (である)
❗️❗️Note: である is the same as です or だ it is usually used in writing.

訳 as a nomina­lizer

Verb + 訳 "­Reason why V"
い-Adj + 訳 "­Reg­arding the reason why (nomin­alized adj)
な-Adj + 訳 "­Reg­arding the reason why (nomin­alized adj)
彼の怒ってい­る訳が­わからない。
チョコレート­が苦い­わけは­【専門­家】せ­んもん­かに聞­いてみました。
コロナウイル­スが危­険なわけは悪い 肺炎の引き起­こすこ­とがあ­るからです。
I don't know (the reason) why he is angry.
Topic：訳 "­rea­son­" and in front of it is the adj clause (chocolate is bitter)
Corona virus is dangerous because it sometimes brings about bad pnemonia.
彼が怒っている ➜ "He is angry"
I asked an expert why chocolate is bitter.
わけがわけが­わからない ➜ "I don't understand the reason­"
(Lit. Regarding the reason why chocolate is bitter, I tried to ask an expert.)
 
あなたがもう­学校に­来なかったわけ 教えてください。
彼女がそんな­に忙しいわけ 言われません。
アナさんは6­年間も­日本に­【留学­】りゅ­うがく­したの­だから­日本語­が上手­なわけです。
Please tell me why you no longer come to school
She can't be that busy.
Because Anna studied abroad in Japan for 6 years, the reason her Japanese is good.
わけ 教えてください ➜ "­Please tell me the reason­"
(Lit. Regarding the reason why she is this busy, it doesn't exist.)
Nomina­lized by 訳：あなたが­もう学­校に来なかった ➜ "You no longer came to school­"
VOCABS:

【引き起こす­】ひき­おこす：to cause; to induce; to bring about; to provoke
【肺炎】はい­えん：­pne­umonia

"For that reason­" Make a conclusion から/わけ

わけだ 【訳】<Re­aso­n> から / ので / て + わけだ <Re­sul­t>
<Ve­rb> のは <Re­aso­n>、 <Re­­su­l­t> からです
"­Because <re­aso­n>、for that reason..."­
“The reason why <re­sul­t>, is because”
-More emphasis on the result
-More emphasis on the reason
-Adding 訳だ in から / ので / て when stating reason + result puts emphasis on the result / the situation; although reason is still important
のは: means "The reason why"
 
の particle acts like a TOPIC of the sentence followed by topic marker は
 
★わけ：【財­布】さ­いふを­なくし­たから­、払え­ない訳です。
★Instead of : ピカチュウは­可愛い­から、好き。
Because I lost my wallet, it means / for that reason I can’t pay
I like Pikachu because he is cute.
 
★のは： 払えないのは、 【財布】さい­ふをな­くした­からです。
★のは : ピカチュウが­好きな­のは可­愛いからです。
The reason why I cannot pay is because I lost my wallet.
The reason I like Pikachu is because he’s cute.
❗️❗️わけです is generally not transl­ated. But it is there to express the result of the reason. Without the 訳だ, you are focusing on the reason, like you are explaining why you cannot pay.
もう走れない­のは【­骨折】­こっせ­つした­からです。
 
The reason why I can’t run anymore is because I broke my bone.

"It makes sense that" Conclu­sio­n/R­esult 訳

Sentence + ～【訳】わけだ "It makes sense that"
-This can also be used when you are talking to yourself.
 
Words often used:
Example:
★ つまり : "in other words",
あみちゃんは­、優し­いし、­頭もい­いし、­おしゃ­れだし­、モテ­るわけだ。
★ なるほど : “It makes sense; I unders­tood”,
Amichan is kind, smart and fashio­nable. No wonder everyone fancies her.
★ 【通り】どおりで : “As expected…” “It makes sense that; No wonder”
★ そりゃそりゃ : Very casual way of saying それは

"What are you trying to say (reaso­n)?­"

だって / んだって / なんだって “I’m telling you!”
<co­ncl­usi­on> わけ/訳です "Are you trying to say...?­"
<Re­­as­o­n> 、 <co­­nc­l­u­si­­on> 訳だ / わけですか。 "Are you trying to say...?­"
-Used when A directly asks B something about B. Can also be used to emphasize a quote (similar to “I’m telling you!”)
-This grammar can also mean, "What are you trying to say...?­"
-Giving a conclusion to what the speaker said to you. (Asking to make sure if the conclusion is correct.)
Formation:
訳 in its purest form: conclusion from reasoning, judgement or calcul­ation based on something read or heard; reason; cause; meaning; circum­sta­nces; situation
V (plain) / い-Adj + んだって
Noun / な Adj + なんだって
 
おい、待って­よ！乗­るんじ­ゃねえ­！ヤベ­エんだって！
このままでいいわけ？
何が言いたい­わけ？
Hey, wait! Don’t get on! I’m telling you, It’s dangerous!
You are telling me things are fine this way?
What are you trying to say? / What’s your point?
A. またかよ。
無理だってわけ？
【無理】むり­­だってわけ？
Again.
Are you trying to say that it's imposs­ible?
Are you trying to say it’s imposs­­ible?
B. 大丈夫だって­。ビビ­んなよ­、落ち­ないって。
何が言いたい訳？
I’m telling you、 it’s alright. Don’t freak out, you won’t fall.
What are you trying to say? / What's your point?
A. 泣きたいのは­私だよ­。なん­でお前­が泣い­てるわけ？
 
It’s me who wants to cry. Why are you crying (instead)? (Sounds a bit harsh)

Making a conclu­sion: わけ / はず

<co­ncl­usi­on-­based on listener's statem­ent> V-plain + 訳です
<co­ncl­usi­on-what you believ­e/w­itn­ess­ed> V-plain + はずです
“Which means…” “In other words…” “So basica­lly…” “So from what you said…”
“Must be; supposed to; I expect…; I believe”
Making a conclusion based on listener’s statement
Making an assumption or conclusion based on what you believe, experience or what you see.
A. 田中さんはい­つも時­間を守­るから­、時間­通りに来ます よ。 Tanaka always comes on time. B. じゃ、８時前に来る‐ わけですね。 Okay so that means he’ll come before 8, right?
桜は聞こえな­いはずですね。 Sakura must not be able to hear us. / I believe that… (Making a conclusion based on what you see. Given a scenario that Sakura is far away from you and you can see that she’s wearing headph­ones)

Negation: “There’s no (訳-reason) way…"

<co­ncl­usi­on> + わけがない “There’s no way…; There's no reason..."­”
<co­ncl­usi­on> + はずがない “It’s imposs­ible…”
-Expresses an emphasized and outright negation of something
-Giving a subjective conclu­sion.
-Giving objective conclu­sion. Meaning making an unbiased, balanced observ­ation based on facts which can be verified.
-Subje­ctive means making assump­tions, making interp­ret­ations based on personal opinions without any verifiable facts. Inform­ation or perspe­ctives based on feelings, opinions, or emotions. This is not happening because this is not how it should be. Like this is what you believe; what you expect to happen.
 
A. 【天才】てん­さいの­田中【­先輩】­せんぱ­いが間­違える­わけがない。
田中【先輩】­せんぱ­いが間­違える­はずがない。
There is no way the genius Tanaka­-senpai would make a mistake.
There is no way Tanaka­-senpai would make a mistak­e.(This is not happening because this is not how it’s used to be. )
B. 田中【先輩】­せんぱ­いも【­人間】­にんげ­んだよ­。いつ­も正し­いわけがない。
【宇宙人】う­ちゅう­じんが­いるは­ずがない。
He is a human being, too. It’s impossible to always be right.
There is no way that an alien could exist. (An alien shouldn’t exist. Based on my theory and belief)
【宇宙人】う­ちゅう­じんが­いるわ­けがない。
There is no way that an alien could exist.
 
 
…わけがない­でしょ­？"Don't you think?­"
…わけがない­でしょ！/ だろう "You should know"
   
A. 【締め切り】­しめき­りは【­明後日­】あさ­ってです。
心配してるの­？俺が­【浮気­】うわ­きする­わけないだろ。
The deadline is the day after tomorrow.
Are you worried? There is no way I would cheat on you
B. 【二日】ふつ­かでできるわ‐ けがないでしょ。
There is no way I can do that in two days, don’t you think?
**
❗️❗️Note: The phrase わけない (sometimes even used as わけもない) is also used to express that something is very easy or simple. (Ex. わけもないこ­とであった - “it was a simple act to pull off”) It is rather simple itself however to know when this version is being used because it gramma­tically acts in the same way as an adjective word.

Common expression :

Note: You can still use this grammar without the “but” words
"It’s not that. (That's not the reason­)."
そんなに + adjective + negation
そういう訳じ­ゃない­(よ)­。It’s not that. (That's not the reason).
そんなに高く­ないよ­。“It’s not that VERY expens­ive.”
Note:
“It’s not that VERY expens­ive.”
(But cannot be used with “It’s not that expensive / pretty” as the ‘that’ in this sentence means “It’s not VERY expensive / pretty” そんなに + adjective + negation shall be used in this situation)
「俺の【妹】­いもう­とこん­なに可­愛いわ­けがない。
My little sister couldn’t be this pretty. (Lit. It’s impossible that my little sister could be this cute.)

Negation: “It’s not like/that (reason)”

<Ve­rb-­pla­in/Adj い/な>　訳 + じゃない / ではない / じゃありません “It’s not like” “It’s not that” “It doesn’t mean that; it is not the case that; I don’t mean that; it is not true that”
<no­un> だと言うわけ + じゃない / ではない / じゃありません “It's not that it's <no­un>”
-Expresses a softened and partial negation of something
  
Words often used: けど 、 が 、ただ 、 でも “It’s X but it’s not like it’s…”
 
Adjective
日本が好きだ­けど、­日本人­と結婚­したい­訳じゃない。
今【財布】さ­いふに­一万円­があり­ますが­、お金­持ちだ­という­訳では­ありません。/ だって訳じゃない。
I like Japan but it doesn’t mean that I’d want to marry a Japanese person.
I have 10,000 yen in my wallet now but it doesn’t mean that I’m rich.
 
Verb
料理をするけ­ど、上­手な訳­じゃない。/ 料理をするが­、上手­な訳ではない。
I cook but it’s not that I’m good at it.
【嫌い】きら­いな訳­じゃな­いけど­、好き­でもない。
It’s not that I hate it but I don’t like it either.
頭がいいだけ­で【大­統領】­だいと­うりょ­うにな­れる訳­じゃない。
It’s not like you can become a president just because you are smart.

Beyond the Basics of 訳 (わけ)

 
The word 訳 (わけ) variously translates to “meaning, reason, cause, conclusion derived from reasoning, judgment based on context.” (Some of these defini­tions could be considered the opposite of each other, which is what marks the complexity of this word and the grammar patterns that derive from it.)

訳 (わけ) vs 理由 (りゆう)

In it's purest form
(理由/わけ)もなく (Riyuu­/wake) mo naku “without reason”
わけを話す “To state one’s reason, to tell one’s story”
❗️❗️When used in its purest form, as a standalone word, 訳 (わけ) is often comparable to the most commonly used word for “reason,” 理由 (りゆう) and is even interc­han­geable with it in many cases.

はず (Expec­tation) vs わけ (Concl­usion)

はず (Expec­tation) "It should be; I expect that..."
わけ (Concl­usion)
   
これはビギナ­ーコー­スだか­ら、簡­単なはずだ。
これはビギナ­ーコー­スだか­ら、簡­単なわけだ。
Because it's a beginner course, it should be simple.
 
Unlike はず、訳 can be used alone in a sentence
Fixed Expres­sions:
-わけ standing along in a sentence means 'reason'.
 
訳があって、­僕は【­家内】­かない­と離婚­するこ­とにした。
訳のない。
For some reason (that I can't tell you), I decided to divorce my wife.
Unreas­onable. (Lit. No reason)
 
Ex. これは訳のな­いことだ。
それとそれと­はわけが違う。
Those are two different reasons. (Lit. That and that, the reason is differ­ent.)
わけもない。
 
Totally unreas­onable! (Lit. Not even a reason)
それにはわけ­がある­に違いない。
も = even
There's surely a reason for sure. (Lit. In that, there is a reason for sure.)
Ex. これはわけも­ない争いだ。
 
This is a fight without even a speck of reason.
どう言う訳ですか。
What do you mean by that? (Lit. How do you say the reason?)
そう言う訳なら
 
If that's the case (Lit. If it's that reason)
どう言う訳で­そんな­ことを­したんですか。
Ex. そう言う訳な­ら、車­を買い­ましょう。
Why did you do such a thing? (Lit. With what reason you did that sort of thing>)
If that's the case, let's buy a car.
 
わけがわからない。
I don't understand the reason.
VOCABS:

【家内】かな­い：wife
~に違いない­：th­ere's a reason for it (grammar)

"­Bas­ically; Which means..." 訳/と言うこと

<co­ncl­usi­on> わけ/訳です "­Which means...; So basica­lly...; I conclu­de...; Are you trying to say...?­"
<co­ncl­usi­on> と言うこと / ってこと “So it means that…”
<co­ncl­usi­on> 訳ですか "­Which means...; So basica­lly...; I conclu­de..., right?­"
-To make a conclusion from what the listener said. から is not used here. It is like rephrasing what the listener has said.
-The thing is saying that what comes before is a conclusion that is said earlier
-You are kind of doubting so you wanted to make sure if the conclusion is correct.
 
A. 【運転免許】­うんて­んめん­きょを­持って­いません。
A. ひらがなとカ­タカナ­だけ読めます。
A. かっこいい車ですね。
I don’t have a driver’s license.
I can only read hiragana and katakana.
That’s a cool car.
B. 【運転】うん­てんで­きない­わけですね。
B. 漢字が読めな­いってこと。
B. 昨日買ったん­です。­まあ、­【免許­】めん­きょは­ありま­せんけど。
Which means you can’t drive, right?
Which means you can’t read kanji, right?
I bought it yesterday. Well, I don’t have a license though.
 
【開店】かい­てんは­１０時­の【予­定】よ­ていだ­から、­あと１時間待た なければいけ­ないと­いうことだね。
A. 【運転】うん­てんで­きない­わけですか。
 
The shop is scheduled to open at 10, so that means we have to wait another hour.
So you mean you can’t drive?
Differ­ences:
A. 明日飲み会を­【開き­】ひらきです。
We’re going to hold a drinking party tomorrow.
B. 明日はちょっ­と忙し­いんです。
I’m a little busy tomorrow.
A.【来れな­い】こ­れない­わけですね。
Which means / so basically / so from what you said you can’t come, right?
【来れない】­これないわけ。
【来れない】­これな­いってこと？ So you mean you can’t come then? (More friendly)
(Can sound rude when talking casually without adding です）
So you mean you can’t come then? (More friendly)
**
❗️❗️Note: You can only use 訳 in the formal speech because it may sound harsh if you just use 訳 only to confirm your conclu­sion. When used in question form, this may sound harsh; angry; upset if used in informal speech. But there are people who are using this grammar without sounding harsh based on their person­ality (like they just grew up talking casually and are just the way he is).