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.
Examples
- 因为 我 有 一个 中国 女朋友，所以 我 要 学 中文。 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。 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。 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。 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。 Since the teacher is sick, she can't come to the class.
- 因为 我 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 老板 今天 不 在，所以 请 你 明天 来。 Since the boss isn't here, please come tomorrow.
- 因为 他爸爸 死了，所以 他 很 难过。 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。 We were too busy, so none of us had time to eat lunch.
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
