Expressing "and then" with "yushi"

于是 is a conjunction used to express a continuation between two events. The second event is the direct result of the first event.

Structure

于是 is a conjunction that comes between two clauses. Its closest English equivalent would be "thus."

⋯⋯ ，于是 ⋯⋯

Examples

• 我 看 大家 都 买 了 ，于是 我 也 买 了 。I saw everyone was was buying. And then I bought it, too.
• 昨天 突然 下雨了 ，于是 我们 取消 了 野餐 的 计划 。It rained yesterday, so we cancelled the picnic.
• 网站上 的 票 已经 卖 光 了 ，于是 我们 买 了 黄牛票 。The tickets on the website were sold out. And then we bought the tickets from the scalpers.
• 老板 对 第一份 设计 不 满意 ，于是 ，我们 让 设计师 重新 设计 了 一下 。 .
• 她 发现 男朋友 已经 结婚 了 。于是 ，她 马上 跟 他 分手 了 。She found her boyfriend's been married. And she broke up with her.

于是 Used with 就

"于是"经常和"就"连用，强调"就"后面的动作或事件发生的时间间隔很短，也强调结果。

• 电影 太 暴力 了 ，我们 实在 看 不 下去 了 ，于是 就 走 了 。 .
• 他 实在 太 懒 了 ，于是 老板 就 把 他 辞 了 。 .

因此 vs. 于是

While they may seem very similar, 因此 is not quite the same as 于是. When using 因此, it acts as a conjunction that expresses the cause and effect. Because of the reasons in clause one, clause two reaches this result or conclusion.

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语虚词手册 (pp. 326) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 636) [ →buy]
• 对外汉语教学语法释疑201例 (pp. 362) [ →buy]

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