Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"
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Level
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Similar to
- Expressing "as a result" with "jieguo" (B1)
- Expressing "then…" with "name" (B1)
- Expressing "since" with "jiran" (B2)
- Expressing "therefore" with "yinci" (B2)
- Stating the effect before the cause (B2)
- Express an action and its effect by using "tongguo… shi" (C1)
- Using "because" with "er" to indicate effect (C1)
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Used for
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Keywords
You will often come across “因为 (yīnwèi)... , 所以 (suǒyǐ)..." in written Chinese as well as spoken Chinese. This grammar point will make your Chinese much more intricate.
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 。 Since I'm hungry, I will go eat.
- 因为 你 迟到 了 ， 所以 要 说 “对不起” 。 Since you are late, you are going to say "I'm sorry".
- 因为 想 去 中国 ， 所以 要 学 中文 。 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 。 Since I can speak Chinese, I am going to go to China.
- 因为 没有 钱 ， 所以 没有 女朋友 。 I don't have any money, so I don't have a girlfriend.
- 因为 很 累 ， 所以 想 休息 。 I'm very tired, so i want to rest.
- 因为 你 不 是 我 ， 所以 你 不 明白 。 Since you aren't me, you don't understand.
- 因为 他 不 在 这里 ， 所以 我 给 他 打电话 。 Since he isn't here, I called him.
- 因为 你 没 来 ， 所以 他 很 不 高兴 。 You didn't come, so he is very unhappy.
- 因为 太 热 ， 所以 我 要 喝 冰 可乐 。 It's too hot, so I'm going to drink some iced Coke.
See also
- Explaining results with "suoyi"
- 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
