～おかげで
thanks to
～おかげで attributes a good result to its cause: “thanks to X, Y happened”. After a noun it takes の (Noun + のおかげで); after a verb or adjective it follows the plain form, most often the past た-form.
It carries a feeling of gratitude. Its blaming counterpart is ～せいで, which attributes a bad result to a cause. Choose おかげで for credit and せいで for blame.
1. Thanks to a person or thing
With a noun, link it to おかげで with the particle の. The main clause states the good result.
先生のおかげで合格できました。
“Thanks to my teacher, I was able to pass.”
- 先生（せんせい）= teacher
- の = linking particle
- おかげで = thanks to
- 合格できました（ごうかくできました）= was able to pass
2. Thanks to something that happened
A whole clause can come before おかげで, usually in the past tense, to credit an action or event.
毎日練習したおかげで、上手になった。
“Thanks to practicing every day, I got better.”
- 毎日（まいにち）= every day
- 練習した（れんしゅうした）= practiced
- おかげで = thanks to
- 上手に（じょうずに）= skillful (adverb form)
- なった = became
3. The set phrase おかげさまで
おかげさまで is a fixed polite phrase used to answer questions like “How are you?” or “How did it go?”. It politely credits the other person and one's good fortune.
おかげさまで、元気です。
“Thanks to you, I'm doing well.”
- おかげさまで = thanks to you (set polite phrase)
- 元気（げんき）= well, healthy
- です = polite copula
How to form it
Noun + のおかげで / plain clause (often past) + おかげで
- 先生（せんせい）= teacher → 先生のおかげで（せんせいのおかげで）= thanks to my teacher
- 練習する（れんしゅうする）= to practice → 練習したおかげで（れんしゅうしたおかげで）= thanks to having practiced
- 手伝う（てつだう）= to help → 手伝ってくれたおかげで（てつだってくれたおかげで）= thanks to (someone) helping me
Key idea
～おかげで gives credit: the result is good, and the speaker is grateful to the cause. When the result is bad and the speaker wants to assign blame, use ～せいで instead.
Other N3 grammar
Updated .