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Formation: V-plain / i-adj plain + だけあって; na-adj + な + だけあって; N + だけあって

〜だけあって says that a result fits what you would expect from someone's status, effort, experience or reputation. The tone is admiring or approving, and さすが often comes before it. The main clause is an evaluation or an observed fact, usually a positive one, not a request or the speaker's intention. Compare 〜だけに: it also means "because of what X is", but it can lead to negative results and to the "all the more" sense (期待していただけに、がっかりした). Use だけあって only for praise that matches expectations. 〜だけのことはある is the version that ends a sentence, and 〜にしては is the reverse: a result that does not match expectations.

Variants: だけあり、だけある (sentence-final)、だけのことはあって

Examples

• さすがプロの料理人だけあって、手際がいい。
  As you'd expect of a professional chef, he works quickly and skilfully.
• 十年もアメリカに住んでいただけあって、彼の英語は自然だ。
  As you'd expect from someone who lived in America for ten years, his English sounds natural.
• この店は人気があるだけあって、平日でも行列ができている。
  True to its popularity, this shop has a queue even on weekdays.

In real texts 0 occurrence(s)

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