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因此yīn cǐthus; consequently; as a result

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

因此 (yīn cǐ) means "thus," "consequently," or "as a result." It links a cause to its result, and it usually starts the second part of a sentence. 他生病了，因此不能来上课 says he got sick and as a result cannot come to class. It sounds a little more formal than 所以.

What does 因此 mean?

  1. 1.

    thus; consequently; as a resultconjunction

What do the characters in 因此 mean?

  • 因cause
  • 此this; these

How do you use 因此?

因此 starts the result clause after a comma, as in Cause，因此 + Result; it is often a more formal choice than 所以.

Patterns

  • Cause，因此 + Result

    他生病了，因此不能来上课。

    Tā shēngbìng le, yīncǐ bù néng lái shàngkè.

    He is sick, so he cannot come to class.

What are some examples of 因此 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 6

    他生病了，因此不能来上课。

    Tā shēngbìng le, yīncǐ bù néng lái shàngkè.

    He is sick, so he cannot come to class.

  2. HSK 6

    今天下雨，因此我们不去公园了。

    Jīntiān xià yǔ, yīncǐ wǒmen bú qù gōngyuán le.

    It is raining today, so we are not going to the park.

  3. HSK 6

    她学习很努力，因此考得很好。

    Tā xuéxí hěn nǔlì, yīncǐ kǎo de hěn hǎo.

    She studies very hard, and as a result she does very well on the exam.

How is 因此 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你朋友小王今天怎么没来？

    Nǐ péngyou Xiǎo Wáng jīntiān zěnme méi lái?

    Why didn't your friend Xiao Wang come today?

  2. Speaker B:

    他生病了，因此在家休息。

    Tā shēngbìng le, yīncǐ zài jiā xiūxi.

    He is sick, so he rests at home.

  3. Speaker A:

    他去医院了吗？

    Tā qù yīyuàn le ma?

    Did he go to the hospital?

  4. Speaker B:

    去了，医生说他明天就能好。

    Qù le, yīshēng shuō tā míngtiān jiù néng hǎo.

    Yes. The doctor says he will be better by tomorrow.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.