～によって
depending on / by means of
～によって attaches to a noun and has several related jobs: it can mean “depending on”, “by means of”, or mark the agent “by” in a passive sentence. The shared core is that the noun is what the outcome hinges on.
In formal writing it often appears as ～により, and before a noun it becomes ～による.
1. Depending on
When the noun is something that varies (era, person, country), によって means the result differs case by case.
時代によって考え方が違う。
“Ways of thinking differ depending on the era.”
- 時代（じだい）= era, period
- によって = depending on
- 考え方（かんがえかた）= way of thinking
- が = subject marker
- 違う（ちがう）= differs
2. By means of
によって can mark the method or cause that brings a result about.
話し合いによって問題を解決した。
“We solved the problem through discussion.”
- 話し合い（はなしあい）= discussion
- によって = by means of
- 問題（もんだい）= problem
- を = object marker
- 解決した（かいけつした）= solved
3. Agent of a passive
In formal passive sentences, によって marks who did the action, like English “by”.
この本は有名な作家によって書かれた。
“This book was written by a famous author.”
- この = this
- 本（ほん）= book
- は = topic marker
- 有名な（ゆうめいな）= famous
- 作家（さっか）= author
- によって = by (agent)
- 書かれた（かかれた）= was written
How to form it
Noun + によって / Noun + による + Noun
- 人（ひと）= person → 人によって（ひとによって）= depending on the person
- 国（くに）= country → 国によって（くにによって）= depending on the country
- 地震（じしん）= earthquake → 地震による被害（じしんによるひがい）= damage caused by the earthquake
Key idea
～によって identifies the deciding factor. Change that noun and the outcome changes too.
Built on the same stem
Updated .