原因

yuán yīn

个 gè 种 zhǒng

HSK 2.0 Level 4 HSK 3.0 Level 4 Noun Very common

Definitions

1. cause
2. origin
3. root cause
4. reason

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

结果

jié guǒ

outcome

结果 means result or outcome, opposite of cause or reason.

Related words

2 items

起因

qǐ yīn

cause

起因 specifically means the cause or origin of an event, often used in news reports.

理由

lǐ yóu

reason

理由 refers to reason or justification, emphasizing logical reasoning rather than causation.

Synonyms

1 item

缘故

yuán gù

reason

Used similarly for reason or cause, but 缘故 often appears in literary or formal contexts.

Usage notes

Collocations

原因 is often paired with 的 and 是: …的原因是… (the reason for ... is ...).

Common mistakes

原因 cannot be used as a verb; do not say *我原因他. Use 因为 or 由于 for 'because'.

Grammar

Guides that feature 原因

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1 guide

HSK 2.0 Level 4+ HSK 3.0 Level 4+ 6 min

由于...因此...

Upgrade 因为...所以... into a more formal connector pair.

Reading: yuán yīn Open guide

Example Sentences

5 shown

由于天气原因，比赛被取消了。

Due to the weather, the match was cancelled.

由于天气原因，航班延误了两个小时。

The flight was delayed for two hours due to weather.

失败的原因是什么？

What is the reason for the failure?

请列举三个原因。

Please list three reasons.

我们正在查明事故原因。

We are ascertaining the cause of the accident.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 原因

former

cause