After watching Game of Thrones last night, I got pretty depressed that I have to wait about one million years for the next season (at least that is how it feels). But as always, my adorable dog came to console me and we rolled around on the floor for a while, playing. When my husband asked how I felt, I said:

犬のおかげで元気になった。
いぬ　の　おかげで　げんき　に　なった。
Thanks to my dog, I'm in a better mood now.
Literally: “dog + の + thanks to + で + 元気 [lively; happy; etc.] became.”
Note: I actually said my dog’s name in place of “dog.” For some reason I am OK with putting my name all over the internet but my dog’s name? That is just going too far! He needs his privacy…

Saying “thanks to” in Japanese comes in 2 forms, the above おかげで and せいで. The difference between them is relatively simple.

おかげ is used to convey a positive emotion when you are grateful to someone or something. It actually comes from the expression おかげさまで, which you might have heard before.

せい is used to convey a negative emotion, so you use this when you are blaming someone or something.

I like to think that both of them are translated as “thanks to” so せいで has a sarcastic feel to it.

Grammatically, both expressions are used in the same way:

Noun + の + おかげ・せい.

おかげ and せい will always be followed by a copula. In other words, they will always be followed by です、だ、or で.

Let’s go over a few examples for each to get you used to the way they work:

If you win some kind of special award, then in your acceptance speech, you might say:

私の成功は、お母さんのおかげです。
わたし　の　せいこう　は、おかあさん　の　おかげ　です。
I am successful thanks to my mother.
Literally: “I + の + success + は + mom + の + thanks to + です”
Note: Japanese has a general rule in which you don’t say positive things about yourself. Due to this, don't use 私のおかげで.

If you get some sweet pain killers after your wisdom teeth are removed, you might say:

薬のおかげで痛みがなくなった。
くすり　の　おかげ　で　いたみ　が　なくなった。
Thanks to the medicine, the pain went away.
Literally: “medicine + の + thanks to + で + pain + が + went away”

When you are telling your tutor they helped you out you can say:

山田先生のおかげでテストでいい点数がとれました。
やまだ　せんせい　の　おかげ　で　てすと　で　いい　てんすう　が　とれました。
Thanks to Yamada-sensei, I got good marks on my test.
Literally: “Yamada-sensei + の + thanks to + で + test + で + good + point number + が + was able to take”

If you are particularly sensitive to hot weather, then you could say:

暑さのせいで外出できない。
あつさ　の　せい　で　がいしゅつ　できない。
I can’t go out because of the heat.
Literally: “heat + の + thanks to + で + go out + can’t”
Note: You can change い type adjectives into nouns by adding さ in place of い. So 寒い（さむい）becomes 寒さ which means “coldness;” and 赤い（あかい）becomes 赤さ which means “redness.”

If a storm causes you to get into a car crash, you might explain that:

その事故は嵐のせいで起こった。
その　じこ　は　あらし　の　せい　だった。
The accident occurred because of the storm.
Literally: “that + accident + は + storm + の + thanks to + happened”

When a line of cars stop to let a family of ducks cross the street, you might get annoyed and say:

電車に乗り遅れたのは渋滞のせいです。
でんしゃ　に　のりおくれた　のは　じゅうたい　の　せい　です。
I was late for my train thanks to the traffic.
Literally: “train + に + late to ride + のは + traffic + congestion + の + thanks to + です.”

Finally, when you mess up, you can say:

私のせいです。
わたし　の　せい　です。
It is my fault.
Literally: “I + の + thanks to + です."

This lesson was written by Cassy L., a guest contributor: