HSK 4 · Objects

原因 yuányīn “cause” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 原因 means

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

Measure word 个 gè · 一个原因 yí ge yuányīn

How to say 原因

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale原yuán2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale因yīn1st tone, high and level

原因 in a sentence

  1. 我不知道他请假的原因。

    Wǒ bù zhīdao tā qǐngjià de yuányīn.

    I don’t know why he asked for time off.

    Sentence #13949962 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你不想知道原因吗？

    Nǐ bù xiǎng zhīdao yuányīn ma?

    Don’t you want to know the reason?

    Sentence #3035561 from Tatoeba

  3. 那是我买这本书的原因。

    Nà shì wǒ mǎi zhè běn shū de yuányīn.

    That’s the reason I bought this book.

    Sentence #6064620 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 原因 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 原 (yuán) with each of its parts in a different colour
原yuánformer
  • 厂cliff · hǎnMeaning part
  • 泉spring · quánSound part

厂 hints at the meaning (cliff); 泉 (quán) hints at the sound. Compare it with yuán.

The character 因 (yīn) with each of its parts in a different colour
因yīncause
  • 囗enclosure · wéi
  • 大big · dà

How to write 原因

原 10 strokes · 因 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 原因

Words with 原

原谅yuánliàng · to excuse原来yuánlái · original原料yuánliào · raw material原则yuánzé · principle原先yuánxiān · originally平原píngyuán · plain还原huányuán · to restore原始yuánshǐ · original原告yuángào · plaintiff原理yuánlǐ · principle

Words with 因

因为yīnwèi · because因此yīncǐ · thus因素yīnsù · element因而yīn'ér · therefore基因jīyīn · gene

More words: Everyday Things

样子yàngzi · appearance钥匙yàoshi · key印象yìnxiàng · impression羽毛球yǔmáoqiú · shuttlecock杂志zázhì · magazine责任zérèn · responsibility知识zhīshi · knowledge质量zhìliàng · quality

FAQs

原因 (yuányīn) means “cause” or “origin”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yuányīn: yuán with a 2nd tone, then yīn with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 原因 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one cause is 一个原因 (yí ge yuányīn).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yuanyin with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 原因 from the suggestions. Typing yuanyin into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
原因 is an HSK 4 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.