それで — So / Because of that / And then
A conjunction meaning "so/therefore" or "and then," connecting a cause/situation to its result or the next event. Slightly softer than だから.
Structure
[Situation]。それで + [Result / Next action]
Examples
電車が遅れた。それで、会議に間に合わなかった。
Densha ga okureta. Sorede, kaigi ni ma ni awanakatta.
The train was delayed. So I didn't make it to the meeting.
それで = so/therefore (causal connection)
雨が降っていた。それで傘を持ってきた。
Ame ga futte ita. Sorede kasa wo motte kita.
It was raining. So I brought an umbrella.
それで = because of that situation
昨日は熱がありました。それで、学校を休みました。
Kinou wa netsu ga arimashita. Sorede, gakkou o yasumimashita.
I had a fever yesterday. So I stayed home from school.
それで = so/therefore (fever → absence)
• それで refers back to the specific situation just mentioned (それ = that), then gives the result. • それで vs だから: だから is a more general/assertive 'therefore.' • In conversation それで also means 'and then? / so what happened?' — prompting the speaker to continue.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones それで is tested against.
vs だから
それで links to the specific preceding situation and is softer/more neutral; だから asserts a cause more strongly and can sound insistent. だから can start a reason the listener already knows; それで presents a consequence.
vs そして
そして just adds the next event ('and then', sequence/addition) with no causal meaning; それで implies the second clause results FROM the first.
More conjunctions
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