因为

因為
yīnwèi
conjunction HSK 2 #72

Meanings

  1. 1 because
  2. 2 owing to

Characters

Both characters relate to causation — is the cause itself, means 'for/because of.'

Examples

Yīnwèi xiàyǔ, wǒ méi qù.
Because it rained, I didn't go.
Wǒ hěn gāoxìng, yīnwèi jīntiān shì wǒ de shēngrì.
I'm very happy because today is my birthday.
Tā yīnwèi shēngbìng méi lái shàngkè.
He didn't come to class because he was sick.

Tips

grammar
因为 often pairs with 所以 (therefore): 因为...所以... is the standard 'because...therefore...' pattern. In English we'd only use one, but Chinese uses both together.
mistakes
Don't combine 因为 with English-style logic. In Chinese, you say 因为 A ,所以 B — never 因为 A ,但是 B. The 'because...but...' pattern doesn't work in Chinese.
usage
因为 can start a sentence or appear mid-sentence. When it starts a sentence, the 所以 clause usually follows after a comma.

Stroke Order

yīn
wéi