What’s The Best Way To Use “kikkake” ?

When something or someone inspires you to start a new chapter in your life, Japanese speakers have just the right word: きっかけ (kikkake). It is one of those words you will hear constantly in everyday conversation — and knowing how to use it will open up a whole range of natural expressions.

Yuka

きっかけ ってどういう意味ですか？ (What does kikkake mean?)

Rei

あることを始めたり、変化が起きたりするきっかけとなった出来事や理由を指すよ。英語では “trigger”, “incentive”, “what started it all” って感じ。 (It refers to the event or reason that triggered a start or a change — in English: “trigger”, “incentive”, or “what inspired me to…”)

At a Glance

How to Use きっかけ

“きっかけ” is a noun meaning the trigger, incentive, or catalyst for something. Unlike 引ひき金がね (hikigane), which is only used for negative triggers, きっかけ can be used for both positive and negative situations.

Common patterns:

～するきっかけ — the trigger/reason for doing ~

きっかけは～です — The trigger was ~

～がきっかけで — With ~ as the trigger, …

Sample Conversations

Yuka

医者いしゃになろうと思おもったきっかけは何なんですか？ (What inspired you to become a doctor?) (isha ni narou to omotta kikkake wa nan desu ka?)

Rei

プログラマーになるきっかけとなった人ひと、あるいはきっかけは何なんですか？ (Who or what inspired you to become a programmer?) (puroguramā ni naru kikkake to natta hito, aruiwa kikkake wa nan desu ka?)

Yuka

３年前ねんまえに日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうしたことがきっかけでした。 (It all started when I studied Japanese 3 years ago.) (san nen mae ni nihongo wo benkyō shita koto ga kikkake deshita.)

Rei

野球やきゅうをするきっかけは、父ちちと野球観戦やきゅうかんせんに出でかけたことです。 (The trigger for playing baseball was going to watch a game with my dad.) (yakyū wo suru kikkake wa, chichi to yakyū kansen ni dekaketa koto desu.)

When to Use 引き金 Instead

The word 引ひき金がね (hikigane) has the same structural meaning as きっかけ — a trigger — but it is used only for negative triggers. If something bad happened because of X, then X is the 引き金.

Sample

Yuka

そんな口論こうろんしてるの？きっかけは何なんなの？ (You’re arguing like that? What was the trigger?) (son’na kōron shiteru no? kikkake wa nan nano?)

Rei

元嫁もとよめのある一言ひとことが引ひき金がねとなって、離婚りこんを決きめたよ！ (What my ex-wife said was the trigger that made me decide to divorce!) (moto yome no aru hitokoto ga hikigane to natte, rikon wo kimeta yo!)

Quick Quiz

Fill in the blank with きっかけ or 引ひき金がね.

Q1. 日本語を勉強し始めた _____ は何ですか？(What was your _____ for starting to study Japanese?) → Answer: きっかけ (positive trigger)

Q2. 彼の言葉が _____ となって、けんかになってしまった。(His words became the _____, and it turned into a fight.) → Answer: 引き金 (negative trigger)

Q3. 留学が _____ で、英語が上手くなりました。(Studying abroad was the _____ that improved my English.) → Answer: きっかけ (positive trigger)

きっかけ is a natural, all-purpose word for the trigger or starting point behind any change — positive or negative. A great conversation starter in Japanese is: 「日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうするきっかけは何なんですか？」 — “What inspired you to study Japanese?” Native speakers will love that you know this word.

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