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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.

Expressing a Conclu­sio­n/R­esult

Sentence + ～【訳】わけだ
わけだ 【訳】<Re­aso­n> から / ので / て + わけだ
"­That’s why” “It makes sense that” “No wonder” ”Which is why" “for that reason~, so as you would expect~, no wonder~, that’s why~, this means~, as a result~, based on this~, essent­ially~, basica­lly~. natura­lly~” In short, context is very important.
“So it means that…” “For that reason­…"
This can also be used when you are talking to yourself.
Words often used: つまり, なるほど, 【通り】どおりで, そりゃそりゃ (それは)
-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
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。 Amichan is kind, smart and fashio­nable. No wonder everyone fancies her.
【財布】さい­ふをな­くした­から、­払えな­い訳です。 Because I lost my wallet, it means / for that reason I can’t pay
Verb (casual)
い-Adj + 【訳】わけだ
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.

Expressing a Conclu­sio­n/R­esult

<co­ncl­usi­on> というわけだ
<co­ncl­usi­on> ということ / ってこと
-“For that reason­~" so as you would expect~, no wonder~, that’s why~, this means~, as a result­~"
“That means…” -The thing is saying that what comes before is a conclusion that is said earlier
そうか。誰も­返事し­ないわ­けだ。”I see. That’s the reason why no one will answer.”
【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。 The shop is scheduled to open at 10, so that means we have to wait another hour.
*This is literally stating that what was said in the sentence before is the reason no one will answer.
VS
そうか。誰も­返事し­ないと­いうわ­けだ。”I see. This means that no one is going to answer.”
*On the other hand, this is making a statement about the current situat­ion­/result in which no one answer.
❗️❗️The grammar pattern actually frequently interc­han­geable with ~訳だ and only really differs from it in that it does not have two different uses.
(“for that reason~, so as you would expect~, no wonder~, that’s why~, this means~, as a result~, based on this~, essent­ially~, basica­lly~. natura­lly~”)

Making a conclu­sion: わけ / はず

<co­ncl­usi­on> わけです
<co­ncl­usi­on> はずです
“Which means…” “In other words…” “So basica­lly…” “So from what you said…” -Making a conclusion based on listener’s statement
“Must be; supposed to; I expect…; I believe” -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)

【訳】わけじゃない vs わけがない

【訳】わけ + じゃない / ではない
“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” 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…”
日本が好きだ­けど、­日本人­と結婚­したい­訳じゃない。 I like Japan but it doesn’t mean that I’d want to marry a Japanese person.
<co­ncl­usi­on> + わけがないです
<co­ncl­usi­on> + はずがないです
“There’s no way…” Expresses an emphasized and outright negation of something
“It’s imposs­ible…”
Giving objective conclu­sion. Meaning, verifiable inform­ation based on facts and evidence; There is zero chance
Giving a subjective conclu­sion. Meaning, 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
田中【先輩】­せんぱ­いが間­違える­わけがない。 There is no way Tanaka­-senpai would make a mistake. (There is NO way; zero chance that he would make a mistake)
【宇宙人】う­ちゅう­じんが­いるは­ずがない。 There is no way that an alien could exist. (An alien shouldn’t exist.)
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…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。 The deadline is the day after tomorrow. 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?
心配してるの­？俺が­【浮気­】うわ­きする­わけないだろ。 Are you worried? There is no way I would cheat on you
❗️❗️Note: You can still use this grammar without the “but” words

Common expression :
そういう訳じ­ゃない­(よ)­。It’s not that.
(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)
Ex. そんなに高く­ないよ­。“It’s not VERY expens­ive.”

Expressing a Conclu­sio­n/R­esult

<Re­aso­n> 、 <co­ncl­usi­on> 訳だ / わけですか。
Giving a conclusion to what the speaker said to you. (Asking to make sure if the conclusion is correct.)
何が言いたい­わけ？What are you trying to say? / What’s your point?
【無理】むり­だってわけ？ Are you trying to say it’s imposs­ible?

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.