HSK 2 · Modal Verbs

因为 yīnwèi “because” in Chinese

Traditional 因為

What 因为 means

  1. because
  2. owing to
  3. on account of

How to say 因为

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale因yīn1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale为wèi4th tone, falling

因为 in a sentence

  1. 他不在这儿，因为他病了。

    Tā bú zài zhèr, yīnwèi tā bìng le.

    He isn’t here because he’s ill.

    Sentence #1361995 from Tatoeba

  2. 因为她生病了，所以她没去学校。

    Yīnwèi tā shēngbìng le, suǒyǐ tā méi qù xuéxiào.

    Because she was sick, she didn’t go to school.

    Sentence #10501226 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他因为生病没来上课。

    Tā yīnwèi shēngbìng méi lái shàngkè.

    He missed class because he was sick.

    Sentence #2325065 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 因为 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 因 (yīn) with each of its parts in a different colour
因yīncause
  • 囗enclosure · wéi
  • 大big · dà
The character 为 (wèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
为wèibecause of
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 力strength · lì
  • 丶dot · zhǔ

How to write 因为

因 6 strokes · 为 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

因为 (yīnwèi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 因为 (yīnwèi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 因为

Words with 因

原因yuányīn · cause因此yīncǐ · thus因素yīnsù · element因而yīn'ér · therefore基因jīyīn · gene

Words with 为

为什么wèishénme · why为wèi · for认为rènwéi · believe为了wèile · in order to以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)成为chéngwéi · to become行为xíngwéi · action作为zuòwéi · as (in the role of)为期wéiqī · to last for (a period)人为rénwéi · man-made

More words: Modal Verbs & Connectors

可能kěnéng · maybe要yào · want为什么wèishénme · why也yě · also所以suǒyǐ · so但是dànshì · but虽然suīrán · although再zài · again

FAQs

因为 (yīnwèi) means “because” or “owing to”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it yīnwèi: yīn with a 1st tone, then wèi with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 因为 is written 因為. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yinwei with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 因为 from the suggestions. Typing yinwei into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
因为 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.