訳
わけ
hepburn wake
reason, circumstance
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 遅れた訳を正直に話しました。I honestly explained the reason I was late.
- 訳が分からなくて困っています。I am troubled because I do not understand what is going on.
Collocations
訳がある訳を話す訳が分からないという訳訳もなく
Mnemonic
訳 wake — the kanji 訳, read with the kun-yomi わけ, means "reason, circumstance, the why of it." This is the very わけ introduced in K-67's 理由 note as its "more colloquial near-synonym." If 理由 is formal, 訳 is conversational. 訳が分からない (I do not get what is going on) is common. Read with the on-yomi やく, the same kanji means "translation" — the 訳 of P4's 翻訳.
Quick check
How is 訳 (wake) used compared with 理由 (K-67)?