お陰

おかげ · okage · JLPT N4 · noun

thanks or owing to

🌳 お陰 = honorific o + kage (shade): thanks to someone's sheltering shade

陰 (kage) means shade or shadow. Being under a god's or benefactor's shade meant being protected, so お陰 came to mean help received. Hence おかげで = thanks to, and おかげさまで = thanks to your kind support.

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