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As we have seen in previous lessons so far, conjunctions connect sentences and therefore need to be in a verbal form. Remember, な-adjectives and nouns cannot be attached directly to conjunctive particles. Since this particle starts with the explanatory の, な-adjectives and nouns need to use な.
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Verb + ので
... atsumaru node ...
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い-adjective + ので
... oishii node ...
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な-adjective + な + ので
... taihen na node ...
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noun + な + ので
... aite na node ...
If the noun or な-adjective is already conjugated into a negative form or different tense (e.g: じゃない / でした) then there is no need for an extra な or です. When using the 〜ます or です forms, both sentences must be in polite form. Do not mix polite and casual speech as this can sound very unnatural.
Just like the から particle, this particle is often translated as "because", "so", "therefore" and so on in English but try not to strictly translate particles between Japanese and English since these may not completely share the same meaning as they do in English.
ので is for the most part the same as the から particle with the exception that ので needs to use な instead of だ and it sounds more formal. In fact, ので is the て form of the explanatory のだ and can be contracted to んで but this may sound too casual.
Due to its polite feel, ので will normally be used in formal situations like when speaking to a stranger or within a business setting.
Expressing Reason or Cause
ので as a conjunctive particle has a cause-and-effect type of relationship, similar to から; The sentence marked by ので provides a reason as an explanation.
|
Reason / Cause subordinate clause |
Result / Effect main clause |
|---|---|
|
船酔い funayoi shita |
風に kaze ni atatteru n'desu |
I got seasick |
I’m getting some fresh air |
Here, the speaker is explaining that the reason they are getting some fresh air is because they feel seasick. This use of ので is placing more focus on the result than the reason; While "I got seasick" is important, the result "I’m getting some fresh air" is more important.
船酔い
[funayoi shita] node [kaze ni atatteru n'desu]
- I got seasick so I’m getting some fresh air.
- I’m getting some fresh air because I got seasick.
※ Example was taken from the game ポケットモンスター Let's Go! (Pokemon Let's Go!)
Ending with ので
...
Using ですので Appropriately
When thinking about talking politely or being formal, it can be easy to assume that ので can be replaced with ですので; however, despite seeming very polite, it is not very common; it should be avoided in formal writing and documents; and you should be very careful about using it in other formal situations.
It is also important that you do not start a sentence with ですので as this is not the same as using だから. Using it in this manner can sound accusatory, which could make the listener feel uncomfortable as though they are being blamed. Instead, you might want to use ですから. However, even this can still sometimes sound more direct than ですので.
When used in formal settings, ですので should only ever be used to connect two sentence in spoken Japanese. Regardless of whether it is ですので or なので, using it at the beginning of a sentence with superiors or anyone else of higher status can come across as rude.
Additional Notes
Some words may have different meanings or expressions so check out online dictionaries such as japandict.com or jisho.org to find out more.
These example sentences may be presented in an unnatural or artificial way. Continue to broaden your research and listen to how real Japanese native people speak. It's important to make sure you have many other resources to use. Do not rely on this website alone.
The lack of the "Oxford Comma" in this lesson:
Please note that the use of the Oxford Comma is completely unnecessary and optional in the English language but many people do use it as a stylistic choice, even though it's misunderstood and used 99.99% of the time in situations where it should not ever need to be used.
The main reason here is the lack of understanding of "context" in the Western world. Most people struggle to identify the difference between clauses and lists which leads to ambiguity.
If I say "I met my parents, Humpty Dumpty and Cinderella", it should be pretty obvious from context to know whether those are the names of my parents or separate individuals. Any need for an optional comma then you should consider rearranging or rephrasing the sentence to remove such ambiguity.
There is also no need to include it into every Japanese sentence either, it is only a personal choice. The character for the comma in Japanese can literally be placed anywhere in a sentence as it has no affect at all on the overall meaning like in English; it generally expresses pauses in natural speech and may replace particles that are obvious, most commonly は or for lists and clauses.
Related Lessons and References
Here is a list of other pages as a reference of what else you may be interested in reading: