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. Better get used to it!
Structure
"因为 ... 所以 ..." 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 to be shortened to just 为.
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 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
