因 (yīn): because; due to

Meanings

1 because; due to
2 cause; reason
3 because of; on account of

Characters

因

yīn

cause; reason; because

Examples

因为下雨，我没去。

Yīnwèi xiàyǔ, wǒ méi qù.

Because it was raining, I didn't go.

原因是什么？

Yuányīn shì shénme?

What is the reason?

因此他很生气。

Yīncǐ tā hěn shēngqì.

Therefore he was very angry.

Tips

grammar

因 works in cause-effect patterns: 因为...所以... (because...therefore...). Key compounds: 因为 (because), 原因 (reason), 因此 (therefore), 因素 (factor). In formal writing, 由于 (due to) is often preferred over 因为.

Components

radical

囗 wéi

enclosure (radical)

Outer enclosure radical — the indexing radical, the big square-frame 囗 (not the small 口 mouth). Here it represents a sleeping mat or confined space. Same enclosure surrounds 国 country, 园 garden, 围 to surround, 困 trapped. The wrapper signals 'something contained inside a defined boundary.'

semantic

大 dà

big; person (semantic)

Inner 大 — the frontal-stance person figure with arms outstretched. Inside the enclosure it pictures a person lying on a mat, the original concrete sense of 因 ('sleeping mat, foundation'). From 'foundation, what one rests on' came the abstract 'cause, reason' that dominates modern usage.