それで connects a reason to what followed

それで is a conjunction that takes the situation just mentioned and moves to a result, explanation, or next relevant development. In its central cause-to-result use, the first statement gives the reason and the statement after それで tells what followed because of it: 電車(でんしゃ)が遅(おく)れました。それで、会議(かいぎ)に間(ま)に合(あ)いませんでした, “The train was delayed. Because of that, I did not make the meeting on time.”

In conversation, それで can also hand the story back to the other person. それで、どうなったの？ asks “So, what happened?” The speaker is not adding another event. The speaker is prompting for the consequence or the next part that matters.

A practical test is to ask what relationship you want the listener to notice. If the second statement is a consequence or an explanation of the first, それで is a strong choice. If you are only listing the next action in time, use それから. だから overlaps with それで in some reason-to-result contexts, but it can put a conclusion or recommendation more directly in the speaker's voice. These are useful tendencies, not a rule that makes one connector correct in every possible sentence.

Link a cause to its result

JMdict lists それで as a conjunction with translations including “so,” “therefore,” and “and then.” Kotobank gives the relationship more precisely: it receives a previously stated matter, treats that matter as the reason, and introduces what follows. The National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics likewise separates result-marking それで from connectors that merely arrange events.

This makes それで useful in ordinary explanations. You can explain why you arrived late, why a plan changed, why a shop is crowded, or why someone now understands a situation. The first sentence does not need an explicit word meaning “reason.” The relationship becomes clear when それで presents the next statement as its consequence.

The result is often a fact that has already happened or a state that can now be understood. That is why 電車(でんしゃ)が遅(おく)れました。それで、遅刻(ちこく)しました sounds like an explanation of the late arrival. A recommendation can follow a reason too, but だから is often a straightforward way to announce the speaker's conclusion, as in 雨(あめ)です。だから、傘(かさ)を持(も)っていきましょう, “It is raining. So let's take an umbrella.” Do not turn this into an absolute ban on それで before intentional actions. Instead, notice whether the sentence is mainly reporting an outcome or actively drawing a conclusion.

Ask for the relevant next part

Kotobank also records それで as a way to receive what has been said and prompt the other person to continue. The full question それで、どうなったの？ is an everyday way to ask “And then what happened?” or “So what happened?” A listener can also ask それで、どうしたの？, “So what did you do?”

A bare それで？ can perform the same job when the shared context is clear. Because it is short, tone matters: with an interested voice it invites the rest of the story, while a clipped voice may feel impatient. When you want a safe, clear question, include どうなったの？ or use the polite それで、どうなりましたか.

This conversational use still connects to the core idea. The listener has heard a situation and asks for the consequence or the next relevant development. It is not the same as changing to an unrelated topic.

Keep それから in the sequence lane

The Japan Foundation describes それから as a connector for putting actions in chronological order. NINJAL similarly explains that それから arranges information, whereas それで actively marks a cause-and-result relationship.

Compare two small stories. 材料(ざいりょう)を切(き)りました。それから、鍋(なべ)を温(あたた)めました lists one cooking step after another. It does not claim that cutting the ingredients caused the pot to become warm. By contrast, 雨(あめ)が強(つよ)くなりました。それで、試食会(ししょくかい)は中止(ちゅうし)になりました tells the listener to understand the cancellation as a result of the rain. English “and then” can translate either connector, so choose from the relationship, not from the English words alone.

Helping at a neighborhood cooking event

Aya is helping Ren prepare a cooking event at a community center. She arrives after the other volunteers and explains the delay.

The delay is the reason; missing the meeting time is the result. それで turns the two facts into one explanation.

Ren wants to know whether anyone was warned.

Here Ren uses それで to ask for the relevant next part. The natural question is what Aya did because the train had stopped.

There is another problem at the community center.

The second delay follows from the locked room. This is not just the next item on a schedule.

Aya has been rushing all morning and mentions one more detail.

Ren now understands Aya's hunger as the result of not eating. In this kind of response, English “that explains it” may sound more natural than a literal “therefore.”

Once the room opens, the volunteers follow the recipe.

This time the relationship is simple sequence. Cutting the ingredients did not cause the next action, so それから gives the cooking order cleanly.

Just before visitors arrive, the weather changes.

The cancellation is the practical consequence of the heavier rain. The story ends with a changed plan, not merely a later event.

Try a two-question check. First, did the earlier situation lead to the later result? If yes, それで may fit. Second, are you only saying what happened next in time? If yes, それから is safer. In dialogue, if you want the other person to supply the consequence, ask それで、どうなったの？ rather than inventing the rest yourself.