Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"

You will often come across “因为 (yīnwèi)... , 所以 (suǒyǐ)..." in both written and spoken Chinese. This pattern will give your Chinese a more logical structure, and can help make you more persuasive.

Using 因为 by itself to explain causes

A common way to explain causes in Chinese is with 因为 (yīnwèi). This is almost entirely equivalent to "because" in English. Usually 因为 (yīnwèi) will begin a new phrase in a sentence.

Structure

In this structure, we first state the result, and then give the reason in the next statement after the 因为 (yīnwèi).

Result ，因为 + Reason

Examples

• 他 学 得 很 快， 因为 他 很 聪明。Tā xué de hěn kuài, yīnwèi tā hěn cōngming. He learns fast because he is smart.
• 她 喜欢 你 ， 因为 你 很 帅。 Tā xǐhuan nǐ, yīnwèi nǐ hěn shuài. She likes you because you are handsome.
• 我 在 学习 中文 ， 因为 我 想 去 中国。Wǒ zài xuéxí Zhōngwén, yīnwèi wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó. I am studying Chinese because I want to go to China.
• 我 不 喜欢 她，因为 她 很 不 友好。Wǒ bù xǐhuan tā, yīnwèi tā hěn bù yǒuhǎo. I don't like her because she is very unfriendly.
• 爸爸 不 太 舒服，因为 昨天 喝 了 太 多 酒。 Bàba bù tài shūfu, yīnwèi zuótiān hē le tài duō jiǔ. Dad is not feeling very well because he drank too much alcohol yesterday.
• 今天 他 没 去 上课 ， 因为 他 生病 了。Jīntiān tā méi qù shàngkè, yīnwèi tā shēngbìng le. He didn't go to school today because he's sick.
• 妈妈 很 累，因为 家里 有 三 个 孩子。Māma hěn lèi, yīnwèi jiālǐ yǒu sānge háizi. Mom is really tired because she has three kids at home.
• 他们 没 去 杭州 ，因为 天气 非常 热 。Tāmen méi qù Hángzhōu, yīnwèi tiānqì fēicháng rè. They didn't go to Hangzhou because the weather was very hot.
• 上 个 月 我 不 在 上海，因为 我 去 南京 出差 了。Shàng ge yuè wǒ bù zài Shànghǎi, yīnwèi wǒ qù Nánjīng chūchāi le. I wasn't in Shanghai last month because I went to Nanjing on a business trip.
• 他 没 上 过 大学，因为 他 家 没钱。Tā méi shàng guo dàxué, yīnwèi tā jiā méiqián. He's never been to college because his family doesn't have the money.

Using 所以 by itself to explain results

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..." or "therefore..." in English.

Structure

This pattern is similar to expressing using both 因为 (yīnwèi) and 所以 (suǒyǐ), 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 英文。Wǒ hěn xiǎng qù Měiguó, suǒyǐ wǒ yào xué Yīngwén. I really want to go to the United States, so I have to study English.
• 上 个 周末 空气 不 好，所以 我 没 出去。Shàng ge zhōumò kōngqì bù hǎo, suǒyǐ wǒ méi chūqù. Last weekend the air was bad, so I didn't go out.
• 老师 很 累，所以 要 休息。Lǎoshī hěn lèi, suǒyǐ yào xiūxī. The teacher is tired so she needs to rest.
• 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 too busy, so I didn't give you a call.
• 你 的 口语 不 太 好，所以 你 要 多 说。Nǐ de kǒuyǔ bù tài hǎo, suǒyǐ nǐ yào duō shuō. Your spoken Chinese is not so good, so you need to speak more.
• 我们 公司 有 很 多 外国人，所以 我们 说 英文。Wǒmen 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 非常 忙。 Tā yào jiéhūn le, suǒyǐ fēicháng máng.He is about to get married, so he's very busy.

Using 因为 and 所以 together

The full pattern "因为 (yīnwèi)... , 所以 (suǒyǐ)..." is used to clearly indicate cause and effect. They could be thought of as equating to: "Since ___ happened, so ___ happened."

Structure

因为 + Cause , 所以 + Effect

This expresses that because of cause, therefore there is a result.

Examples

• 因为 我 有 一个 中国 女朋友，所以 我 要 学 中文。Yīnwèi wǒ yǒu yī gè Zhōngguó nǚpéngyou, suǒyǐ wǒ yào xué Zhōngwén. Since I have a Chinese girlfriend, I am going to study Chinese.
• 因为 我 不 想 迟到，所以 应该 打车。Yīnwèi wǒ bùxiǎng chídào, suǒyǐ yīnggāi dǎchē. Since I don't want to be late, I should take a cab.
• 因为 他 没有 钱，所以 找 不 到 女朋友。Yīnwèi tā méiyǒu qián, suǒyǐ zhǎo bù dào nǚpéngyou. He doesn't have any money, so he can't find a girlfriend.
• 奶奶 因为 太 老 了，所以 不能 坐 飞机。Nǎinai yīnwèi tài lǎo le, suǒyǐ bù néng zuò fēijī. Since grandma is too old, she can't take an airplane.
• 老师 因为 生病 了，所以 不能 来 上课。Lǎoshī yīnwèi shēngbìng le, suǒyǐ bù néng lái shàngkè. Since the teacher is sick, she can't come to the class.
• 因为 我 很 累，所以 想 休息。Yīnwèi wǒ 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 老板 今天 不 在，所以 请 你 明天 来。Yīnwèi lǎobǎn jīntiān bù zài, suǒyǐ qǐng nǐ míngtiān lái. Since the boss isn't here, please come tomorrow.
• 因为 他爸爸 死了，所以 他 很 难过。Yīnwèi tā bàba sǐ le, suǒyǐ tā hěn nánguò. His dad is dead, so he is very sad.
• 因为 太忙， 所以 我们 都 没有 时间 吃 中饭。 Yīnwèi tài máng, suǒyǐ wǒmen dōu méiyǒu shíjiān chī zhōngfàn. We were too busy, so none of us had time to eat lunch.

See also

• Stating the effect before the cause (advanced article)

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 272-4) →buy
• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 79) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 108) →buy

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: How to use 因为 and 由于