～によって／～による — By; Depending On; Due To
A versatile expression with several meanings: (1) the agent in a passive sentence ('by'), (2) means or method ('by means of'), (3) cause ('due to'), and (4) variation ('depending on'). The exact sense is determined by context. The noun-modifying form is 〜による.
Structure
[Noun] + によって／により (modifier: [Noun] + による + Noun)
Examples
この小説は夏目漱石によって書かれた。
Kono shousetsu wa Natsume Souseki ni yotte kakareta.
This novel was written by Natsume Souseki.
によって marks the agent in a passive sentence ('by').
人によって考え方が違う。
Hito ni yotte kangaekata ga chigau.
Ways of thinking differ depending on the person.
によって here means 'depending on', showing variation across people.
地震による被害が大きかった。
Jishin ni yoru higai ga ookikatta.
The damage caused by the earthquake was great.
The modifying form による attaches to 被害 (damage), expressing cause ('due to').
• Register: formal; により is the more written variant. • Meaning depends on context: agent, means, cause, or variation. • Use による when directly modifying a following noun.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～によって／～による is tested against.
vs で
によって is more formal and explicit for means/agent/cause; the particle で is casual and can be ambiguous, and で cannot express the 'varies depending on' meaning.
vs に基づいて
によって covers agent, means, cause, and variation; に基づいて specifically means 'grounded on X as a foundation/standard'.
More expressions
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