Explaining results with "suoyi"

Just as 因为 (yīnwèi) can be used to explain causes, 所以 (suǒyǐ) can be used to explain results. This is the equivalent of "so therefore. . ." in English.

Structure

This structure is a simple statement of "cause and effect." This is similar to expressing cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi", but it leaves out the beginning 因为 (yīnwèi). This structure is more informal.

Reason ，所以 + Result

Examples

• 汉字 太 难 了 ， 所以 我 不 想 学 。 Hànzì tài nán le, suǒyǐ wǒ bù xiǎng xué. Chinese characters are too hard, so I don't want to study them.
• 她 很 漂亮 ， 所以 很 多 男孩 喜欢 她 。 Tā hěn piàoliang, suǒyǐ hěn duō nánhái xǐhuan tā. She is beautiful, so a lot of boys like her.
• 我 很 想 去 美国， 所以 我 要 学 好 英文。 Wǒ hěn xiǎng qù Měiguó, suǒyǐ wǒ yào xué hǎo Yīngwén. I want to go to America, so I want to study English well.
• 上 个 周末 天气 不 好 ， 所以 我 没 去 公园 。 Shàng gè zhōumò tiānqì bù hǎo, suǒyǐ wǒ méi qù gōngyuán. Last weekend the weather was bad, so I didn't go to the park.
• 老师 很 累， 所以 要 多 休息。 Lǎoshī hěnlèi, suǒyǐ yào xiūxī. The teacher is tired so she needs to rest more.
• 他 找到 工作 了 ， 所以 他 很 高兴 。 Tā zhǎo dào gōngzuò le, suǒyǐ tā hěn gāoxìng. He found a job so he's happy.
• 太 忙 了 ， 所以 没有 给 你 打 电话 。 Tài máng le, suǒyǐ méiyǒu gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà. I was very busy, so I didn't give you a call.
• 你 的 口语 不 太 好 ， 所以 你 要 多 说 。 Nǐ de kǒu yǔ bù tài hǎo, suǒyǐ nǐ yào duō shuō. Your spoken Chinese is not so good, so you need to speak more.
• 我们 的 公司 有 很 多 外国人 ， 所以 我们 说 英文 。 Wǒmen de gōngsī yǒu hěn duō wàiguórén, suǒyǐ wǒmen shuō Yīngwén. There are a lot of foreigners in our company, so we speak English.
• 他 要 结婚 了， 所以 有点 忙。 Tā yào jiéhūn le, suǒyǐ yǒudiǎn máng. He is getting married so he's been a little too busy.

See also

• Explaining causes with "yinwei"
• Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"
• "Then…" with "name"

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Concept Chinese (新概念汉语　初级本II) (p.145) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 108) →buy

HSK3