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JLPT N3Expressions

～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.

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Pro lessonUNIT 76 · EXPRESSIONS

Structure · 形

[Noun] + によって／により　(modifier: [Noun] + による + Noun)

Examples · 例文

  • 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').

Usage notes · 注意

  • 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'.

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