ところで

ところで
conjunction
by the way
1. by the way, incidentally
A conjunction used to change the topic or introduce a new subject in conversation.
ところで、何時(なんじ)?
By the way, what time?
ところで、田中(たなか)さんは来(き)ますか。
By the way, is Tanaka-san coming?
ところで、明日(あした)の予定(よてい)は何(なん)ですか。
By the way, what are your plans for tomorrow?
ところで、聞(き)きたいことがあるんですが、来週(らいしゅう)の会議(かいぎ)は何曜日(なんようび)ですか。
By the way, there's something I wanted to ask—what day is next week's meeting?
話(はなし)は変(か)わりますが、ところで、先月(せんげつ)引(ひ)っ越(こ)したと聞(き)きましたが、新(あたら)しい家(いえ)はどうですか。
Changing the subject, by the way, I heard you moved last month—how's the new house?

ところで is a conjunction meaning "by the way" used to change the topic or introduce a new subject in conversation.

USAGE:
Placed at the beginning of a sentence to signal a topic change. The new topic may or may not be related to the previous discussion.

COMMON PATTERNS:

  • ところで、[new topic]は？: By the way, what about [new topic]?
  • ところで、聞(き)きたいことがあるんですが...: By the way, there's something I wanted to ask...

SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:

REGISTER:
Natural in both casual and polite conversation.

core
Added 2026.1.7 21:11 · Revised 2026.2.21 23:01
01000/01002_tokorode