こそ
(Koso)
precisely because / it is only because.
Connection rules
- ＋V ば-form + こそ; i-adj 〜ければ + こそ; na-adj / noun + であれば + こそ.
- ＋Literary / formal — more emphatic than 〜からこそ.
- ＋Common in sincere / emotional assertions: 君を思えばこそ、こう言うのだ ('it's precisely because I care about you that I say this').
Examples
1.
君を愛していればこそ、こう言うのだ。
Kimi o aishi te ire ba koso, kou iu no da.
It's precisely because I love you that I say this.
「precisely because / it is only because」
2.
健康であればこそ、仕事ができる。
Kenkou de are ba koso, shigoto ga dekiru.
It is only because one is healthy that one can work.
「precisely because / it is only because」
Practice
It is precisely because I think of your future that I am being so strict.
君の将来を___、厳しく言っているのだ。
Romaji also accepted