This means you get into trouble because of someone else. You suffer bad things that are not your fault.
Noun + の + とばっちりPrimary
Clause + とばっちり
This means you get into trouble because of someone else. You suffer bad things that are not your fault.
隣の家の火事のとばっちりで、うちの壁まで黒くなってしまった。
As fallout from the fire at the neighbor's house, even our walls ended up getting blackened.
上司たちの喧嘩のとばっちりを受けたくないから、今日は早く帰ろう。
I don't want to get caught in the crossfire of my bosses' fight, so I'm going to head home early today.
兄が親と喧嘩したとばっちりがこっちに来るなんて、理不尽だ。
It's so unfair that the fallout from my older brother's fight with our parents is coming my way.
彼がスキャンダルを起こしたとばっちりで、共演していただけの私も仕事を失った。
As collateral damage from the scandal he caused, I, who was just his co-star, also lost my job.
政治家の失言のとばっちりは、いつも国民が受けることになる。
It's always the citizens who end up suffering the consequences of a politician's gaffe.
Imagine someone splashes water. You get wet, but you did nothing wrong. This word means you get caught in someone else's trouble. You are an innocent person who gets hurt.
Both mean something bad happened because of something. But "〜せいで" means you directly caused it. "〜とばっちり" means someone else caused it. You got hurt, but you were not involved. For example, your mistake made your whole team suffer. Your teammates would say "〜とばっちり". You would say "私のせいで".
Don't use this when something good happens. For example, you cannot say "I got a good thing because of someone else's luck."
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