Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleGoetz
Think about it this way: ので is (I believe, or it's at least useful for mnemonic purposes) derived from のです and functions as a link between two sentences, so it has a slightly less "BECAUSE" feel to it. から, on the other hand, is very explicitly linking cause and effect. I think this is what creates the sense that ので is softer and more formal.
Besides that, just listen to the sounds: の で versus カ ラ. One sounds much nicer than the other. I've never had this confirmed, but my own private understanding of Japanese sounds is that things like the voiceless stops and voiceless plosives are more forceful and less formal than voiced stops/plosives.
For example, ので has "d," as voiced stop. から has "k," a voiceless stop. Look at te-form as a link between sentences. In formal writing, you drop the te and use only the (I forget the name) form. E.g., 起きて、学校に行く。 becomes 起き、学校に行く。 The idea I have is that you seek to minimize the voiceless plosives and stops. This seems to show up very frequently in Japanese, though it could just be observer bias on my part.
In any case, the point is that this private theory of mine explains in part why ので is more formal than から.
Any native speakers care to weigh in on my private theory?
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のでis a more polite and more commonly used way of saying because in written japanese. kara is less formal and is used more in spoken, however it is not wrong to use either in written or spoken. depending on the prior and next sentence structure you have used or intend on using, the word will change, as with but - だって、だが、ですが、ただ、でも、しかし、など are all used in different parts of a verse, or paragraph, because they all resemble slight differences... also, with japanese you have to remember, you learn things so you can forget them later, and learn a completely different style of thinking.