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JLPT N4Grammar Patterns

ということ— The Fact That / Meaning That

Nominalizes a clause as 'the fact that...', or restates/clarifies something to spell out its meaning. Often used to summarize or explain what something amounts to.

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Pro lessonUNIT 79 · GRAMMAR PATTERNS

Structure · 形

[Plain clause] + ということ

Examples · 例文

  • 彼が来ないということが分かった。

    Kare ga konai to iu koto ga wakatta.

    I found out that he isn't coming.

    来ないということ = the fact that he isn't coming (nominalized clause)

  • つまり、失敗したということですか？

    Tsumari, shippai shita to iu koto desu ka?

    So, you mean you failed?

    失敗したということ = restating/clarifying the meaning ('so it means you failed?')

  • 彼女が国へ帰るということを聞きました。

    Kanojo ga kuni e kaeru to iu koto o kikimashita.

    I heard that she is going back to her home country.

    帰るということ = the fact that she is going back (nominalized clause)

Usage notes · 注意

  • ということは = 'which means / so that means': 雨が降るということは、試合は中止だ (it's going to rain, which means the match is cancelled).
  • ということ is key for reporting facts and reasoning in more complex sentences.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ということ is tested against.

vsこと (plain nominalizer)

Plain こと nominalizes an action/idea directly (泳ぐことが好き). ということ adds a 'the fact/idea that... (as stated/reported)' framing, common for restating or reporting.

vsの (nominalizer)

の nominalizes concrete, perceived actions (彼が走るのを見た). ということ is abstract — the fact/content of a statement — and cannot be swapped in for perception verbs.

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