脇道(わきみち)にそれる

わきみちにそれる
expression
to go off on a tangent; to digress; to stray from the main road
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present脇道(わきみち)にそれる脇道(わきみち)にそれない
Present polite脇道(わきみち)にそれます脇道(わきみち)にそれません
Past脇道(わきみち)にそれた脇道(わきみち)にそれなかった
Past polite脇道(わきみち)にそれました脇道(わきみち)にそれませんでした
て form脇道(わきみち)にそれて脇道(わきみち)にそれなくて
ている present脇道(わきみち)にそれている脇道(わきみち)にそれていない
ている polite脇道(わきみち)にそれています脇道(わきみち)にそれていません
ている past脇道(わきみち)にそれていた脇道(わきみち)にそれていなかった
ている past polite脇道(わきみち)にそれていました脇道(わきみち)にそれていませんでした
Conditional ば脇道(わきみち)にそれれば脇道(わきみち)にそれなければ
Conditional たら脇道(わきみち)にそれたら脇道(わきみち)にそれなかったら
Volitional脇道(わきみち)にそれよう—
Volitional polite脇道(わきみち)にそれましょう—
Potential脇道(わきみち)にそれられる脇道(わきみち)にそれられない
Passive脇道(わきみち)にそれられる脇道(わきみち)にそれられない
Causative脇道(わきみち)にそれさせる脇道(わきみち)にそれさせない
Imperative脇道(わきみち)にそれろ脇道(わきみち)にそれるな
1. to veer off the main road onto a side road; to stray off the main path
Literal sense. To leave the main road and move onto a smaller, branching road. Used of cars, walkers, animals, and so on. The literal sense is less common in everyday conversation than the figurative one but still shows up in driving directions, travel writing, and descriptions of a landscape.
車(くるま)が脇道(わきみち)にそれた。
The car turned off onto a side road.
国道(こくどう)から脇道(わきみち)にそれると、静(しず)かな田舎(いなか)の風景(ふうけい)が広(ひろ)がっていた。
When we turned off the main highway onto a side road, quiet countryside scenery spread out before us.
近道(ちかみち)のつもりで脇道(わきみち)にそれたら、かえって遠回(とおまわ)りになってしまった。
I took a side road thinking it would be a shortcut, but it ended up being a detour instead.
2. to go off on a tangent; to digress from the main topic of a conversation, lecture, or piece of writing
Figurative sense, by far the more common one. To drift away from the main topic of what one is saying or writing. Often used self-deprecatingly — the speaker or writer notices they have wandered off course and wants to bring the discussion back. The image is clearly that of a traveler accidentally turning onto a side street instead of continuing along the main road.
話(はなし)が脇道(わきみち)にそれた。
The conversation went off on a tangent.
すみません、話(はなし)が脇道(わきみち)にそれてしまいました。
Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent.
先生(せんせい)の授業(じゅぎょう)はよく脇道(わきみち)にそれるが、その雑談(ざつだん)が一番(いちばん)面白(おもしろ)いと学生(がくせい)たちには評判(ひょうばん)だ。
The teacher's lectures often wander off on tangents, but the students say those digressions are the most interesting part.

Composed of 脇道(わきみち) (side road, side path) + に (target particle) + それる (to stray, to veer off course). The verb それる is usually written それる in hiragana, though 逸(そ)れる is the kanji form. A very common figurative expression built on the transparent image of leaving the main road.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 話(はなし)が脇道(わきみち)にそれる: the conversation goes off on a tangent
  • 議論(ぎろん)が脇道(わきみち)にそれる: the discussion goes off-topic
  • 話題(わだい)が脇道(わきみち)にそれる: the topic drifts off course
  • 脇道(わきみち)にそれてしまう: to end up going off on a tangent (with a note of self-awareness)
  • 話(はなし)を本筋(ほんすじ)に戻(もど)す: to bring the conversation back to the main point (the typical "rescue" phrase after a tangent)

SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:

  • 話(はなし)が逸(そ)れる: the conversation strays off — a plainer near-synonym, without the "side road" metaphor.
  • 本題(ほんだい)から外(はず)れる: to stray from the main topic — a slightly more formal alternative.
  • 横道(よこみち)にそれる: to go off onto a side road / tangent — essentially interchangeable with 脇道(わきみち)にそれる.
  • 脱線(だっせん)する: (literally "to derail") to go wildly off-topic — stronger and more vivid, often used of lectures or speeches.

USAGE NOTE:
The figurative sense 2 is so common that when a speaker or writer uses this phrase out of context, listeners usually assume they mean a conversational digression. The literal sense of turning onto a side street is still understood but is more common in travel writing and driving directions.

Self-correction in conversation often takes the form 話(はなし)が脇道(わきみち)にそれてしまいましたが、本題(ほんだい)に戻(もど)ります ("I've gone off on a tangent, but let me return to the main topic"). This is a polite and very common pattern in presentations and meetings.

REGISTER:
Neutral. Used freely in both spoken and written Japanese, from casual conversation to formal lectures.

general
Added 2026.4.12 6:36
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