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切っ掛け

きっかけ

trigger; the thing that started it; occasion; opening; cue

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. これが日本語を学ぶ切っ掛けになった。

    これがにほんごをまなぶきっかけになった。

    This is what got me started learning Japanese.

  2. 彼等は彼に逃げる切っ掛けを与えた。

    かれらはかれににげるきっかけをあたえた。

    They gave him an opening to escape.

  3. ちょっとした切っ掛けで二人は親しくなったそうだ。

    ちょっとしたきっかけでふたりはしたしくなったそうだ。

    Apparently some small thing brought the two of them close.

Common patterns

〜を切っ掛けに
prompted by; taking ... as the occasion
切っ掛けを作る
to create an opening
話す切っ掛けがない
to have no opening to start a conversation

Memory tip

Nearly always written in kana as きっかけ; the kanji here are ateji. It names the specific spark that set something off, whereas 原因 is the underlying cause and 機会 is simply an opportunity you could take.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

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What does 切っ掛け mean?