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

HSK 1
Yīnwèi xiàyǔ, wǒ méi qù.
Because it rained, I didn't go.
HSK 1
Wǒ hěn gāoxìng, yīnwèi jīntiān shì wǒ de shēngrì.
I'm very happy because today is my birthday.
HSK 1
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