せいで

'せいで' is a Japanese grammatical expression used to indicate that an event occurred because of a certain cause, typically with negative outcomes. It shows a sense of blame or responsibility, emphasizing how the subject's action or a specific situation led to an undesirable result.

For example, if someone arrives late because of traffic, one could say: '渋滞[じゅうたい]のせいで遅れました[おくれました]。'. Here, 'せいで' highlights that the traffic jam was the reason for being late.

When using 'せいで', it can also be combined with different parts of speech:

• Nouns: バス[ばす]のせいで彼[かれ]は遅刻[ちこく]した。 (He was late because of the bus.)
• Verbs: 雨[あめ]が降[ふ]ったせいで試合[しあい]が中止[ちゅうし]になった。 (The match was canceled due to the rain.)
• い-adjectives: 本[ほん]が重[おも]いせいで持[も]って来[こ]れなかった。 (I couldn't bring it because the book is heavy.)
• な-adjectives: 彼女[かのじょ]のせいで私[わたし]は悲[かな]しい。 (I'm sad because of her.)