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Why is it so hard to throw this watch away? 「だけに」 highlights the special reason: it was a gift from her mother.

Lesson notes · ≈ JLPT N2 · Intermediate 3

〜だけに~dake ni

precisely because

「〜だけに」 emphasizes a particular reason to make the following result or strong feeling understandable.

How it works

Why is it so hard to throw this watch away? 「だけに」 highlights the special reason: it was a gift from her mother.
It means “precisely because…”. Emphasizing this background makes the result or strong feeling that follows easier to understand.
Attach 「だけに」 directly to a noun, as in 「時計だけに」. With a な-adjective, keep 「な」.
For verbs and い-adjectives, add 「だけに」 to the plain form. 「ある」 in the dialogue is a plain form.
In the shoe example, 「だけに」 emphasizes the reason; 「できるだけ」 means “as much as possible”. The two uses of 「だけ」 have different roles.

高かった靴たかかったくつtakakattakutsuだけdakeに、ni、できるdekiruだけdake長くながくnagaku使いたいです。つかいたいです。tsukaitaidesu。
Precisely because they were expensive shoes, I want to use them for as long as possible.
母ははhahaにniもらった時計もらったとけいmorattatokeiだけdakeに、ni、簡単に捨てるかんたんにすてるkantannisuteruことkotoはわwaできません。dekimasen。
Precisely because it is a watch I received from my mother, I cannot easily throw it away.

A
このバッグ、ばっぐ、色落ちいろおちやほつれが目立ちますめだちますね。
A: The color fading and fraying on this bag are quite noticeable.
B
長年ながねん使っつかって愛着あいちゃくがあるだけに、なかなか手放せないてばなせないんですよ。
B: Precisely because I've used it for many years and have grown attached to it, I just can't let it go.
A
専門業者せんもんぎょうしゃに補修ほしゅうを頼めたのめば、また使いつかい続けられますつづけられますよ。
A: If you ask a specialist to repair it, you can keep using it.

Level 1 · Recognise
Which sentence is correct?
Level 1 · Recognise
Listen and choose the meaning
Level 2 · Build
Put the words in order
Since these shoes were expensive, I want to use them for as long as possible.
Level 3 · Use
What goes in the blank?
高かった靴____、できるだけ長く使いたいです。
Since these shoes were expensive, I want to use them as long as possible.