What's an equivalent in Japanese to "I'm asking this because..."?

Question

Like, in a conversation one might first ask:

"When are you going on holiday?"

and then follow up with a clarification:

"I'm asking this because I need someone to watch my kids next week."

What would you use in in a simillar situation in Japanese?

Answer 1

One option is to use と言うのは, or と言うのも, at the beginning of a sentence.

いつから休みですか。と言うのは、来週誰かに子供（の面倒）を見て欲しいんです。

The sentence sounds natural if the main part ends with 〜んです (with an explanatory の reduced to ん).

The difference between と言うのは and と言うのも is explained here. It’s very subtle.

In a more casual conversation, you might hear something like the following more often.

いつから休み？来週誰かに子供（の面倒）を見て欲しいんだけど。