Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"

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You will often come across “因为 (yīnwèi)... 所以 (suǒyǐ)..." in written Chinese as well as spoken Chinese. Better get used to it!

Structure

"因为 (yīnwèi) ... 所以 (suǒyǐ) ..." are used to indicate cause and effect. They are often thought of as being: "Since ___ happened, so ___ happened."

因为 + Cause , 所以 + Effect

This expresses that because of cause, therefore there is a result. It is quite common for 因为 (yīnwèi) to be shortened to just 为 (wèi).

Examples

  • 因为 我 饿了 , 所以 我 要 吃饭 。 Yīnwèi wǒ èle, suǒyǐ wǒ yào chīfàn. Since I'm hungry, I will go eat.
  • 因为 你 迟到 了 , 所以 要 说 “对不起” 。 Yīnwèi nǐ chídào le, suǒyǐ yào shuō duìbùqǐ. Since you are late, you are going to say "I'm sorry".
  • 因为 想 去 中国 , 所以 要 学 中文 。 Yīnwèi xiǎng qù Zhōngguó, suǒyǐ yào xué Zhōngwén. Since I want to go to China, I am going to study Chinese.
  • 因为 我 会 说 中文 , 所以 我 要 去 中国 。 Yīnwèi wǒ huì shuō Zhōngwén, suǒyǐ wǒ yào qù Zhōngguó. Since I can speak Chinese, I am going to go to China.
  • 因为 没有 钱 , 所以 没有 女朋友 。 Yīnwèi méiyǒu qián, suǒyǐ méiyǒu nǚpéngyou. I don't have any money, so I don't have a girlfriend.
  • 因为 很 累 , 所以 想 休息 。 Yīnwèi hěn lèi, suǒyǐ xiǎng xiūxi. I'm very tired, so i want to rest.
  • 因为 你 不 是 我 , 所以 你 不 明白 。 Yīnwèi nǐ bù shì wǒ, suǒyǐ nǐ bù míngbai. Since you aren't me, you don't understand.
  • 因为 他 不 在 这里 , 所以 我 给 他 打电话 。 Yīnwèi tā bù zài zhèlǐ, suǒyǐ wǒ gěi tā dǎdiànhuà. Since he isn't here, I called him.
  • 因为 你 没 来 , 所以 他 很 不 高兴 。 Yīnwèi nǐ méi lái, suǒyǐ tā hěn bù gāoxìng. You didn't come, so he is very unhappy.
  • 因为 太 热 , 所以 我 要 喝 冰 可乐 。 Yīnwèi tài rè, suǒyǐ wǒ yào hē bīng kělè. It's too hot, so I'm going to drink some iced Coke.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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