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User:Arknarok/Kanji Guide/Yoru and You: a Kanji Perspective

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Introduction

による is one of those auxiliary words of Japanese we don't really pay much attention to. We know it's used to mean that some things are related in a way. Consider the following ways of using it:

  • による
  • により
  • によって

This is the usage we're talking about. They are fairly loaded expressions, and this article will attempt to look at them from the standpoint of the original kanji to see how the modern usage of よる originated from meanings of certain kanji.

Kanji overview

Let us first take a look at 10 most common kanji with the "yoru" reading.

  1. 夜 - "night". Probably the first thing that comes up in your mind when you think "yoru as a kanji". Has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Not relevant.
  2. 寄 - "to come near, to gather". A fairly common verb, which shares the reading with the construction we're looking at. However, the meaning is too distant to consider it related. Not relevant.
  3. 依 - "to depend, to rely". This is, perhaps, the most important one to us, as you'll see later. Relevant.
  4. 拠 - "base, foundation". Another important one to take a look at. Relevant.
  5. 因 - "cause". A bit less important than the other two, but still an interesting case to look at. Relevant.
  6. 由 - "origin". Considering its similarity to 因, there's not much point in discussing it separately from it. Not relevant.
  7. 選 - "to choose, to select". Looks a bit relevant until you realize you can't really attach に to it. Not relevant.
  8. 択 - "option". See previous entry. Not relevant.
  9. 撚 - "to twine". Absolutely unrelated to the topic at hand. Not relevant.
  10. 縒 - "to twine". See previous entry. Not relevant.

It should not be surprising that most of these kanji represent verbs. In fact, if you look at the expression we're looking at, it's easy to see that よる in question is a verb as well.

に依る

This is the main kanji behind による. The whole expression originates from the idea of something being "dependent" on something else. Sometimes it can even be meant directly.

適用すべき方法が問題によることは瞭然ではないか。 - Isn't it obvious that the methods that should be used depend on the problem?

This case is so direct it might even be weird to see による written in kana here, as its meaning is such a perfect match for the original kanji and its use is so like a usual verb's.

Similar to English, "depend" can have a less direct meaning of a certain action reacting to a certain characteristic or to an extent of something else. In that case, によって is used (に依って).

天気によって感が違う人もいる。 - There are also people whose emotions change depending on the weather.

This is probably much closer to the usages of による you are familiar with, but you probably see how close this is to the meaning of 依.

精度によって実験結果は大幅に異なります。 - The results of the experiments differ greatly depending on precision.

This example shows the underlying meaning of "relation" that defines this usage. The dependency here means a close relation between the precision (which can be measured) and the results (which are measured as well). This sort of connection is perfect for によって and the meaning of 依.

Aside from dependency, 依る can also indicate means of performing an action. (That is, the object we're relying on to perform the action.)

この研究は観測による行われます。 - This research is performed by means of observation.

This is a bit of a literal translation, but it shows the point. You can often consider this による as a glorified で, but による has an added implication of you relying on the method in question, hence why it belongs to the meanings brought by 依.

に拠る

The contribution of 拠 is not as great, but it brings the meaning of "on the grounds of" to the mix.

だって、これはニュースによるんだ。 - I'm telling you, this is according to the news.

This is one of the easiest meanings of による - using it to provide the basis for your actions, opinions, etc.

に因る

This is a bit of a similar case. The meaning of 因 can turn による into a way to provide the cause for something.

渋滞によって遅刻した。 - I was late because of a traffic jam.

As 由 has a similar meaning, you could throw that into the possible sources of による as well.

細菌による疾患は現代の医学に大したものじゃないでしょう? - Aren't diseases caused by bacteria easy for the modern medicine?

It is also most likely that this is also the reason behind による being a possible way to give the subject of the action for causative verbs (you might see different opinions on this one).

せっかく旅行に行くチャンスがあったが、上司によって休日なしで仕事をさせられました。 - I finally had a chance to go on a trip, but my boss caused me to work without day offs.

Of course, in this sentence you could easily replace によって with に.