Discussing cause and effect in Mandarin

See also: Presenting an argument in Mandarin

When writing essays and arguments, it’s very useful to be able to express reasons and results.

If you’re getting tired of “因为 … 所以 …”, have a look at the phrases listed below.

They’re generally quite formal and more suited to essay writing and debate than casual discussion.

Causes and reasons

[A] 由 [B] 而来

[A] yóu [B] ér lái

[A] comes from [B]

[A] 由 [B] 引起

[A] yóu [B] yǐnqǐ

[A] is caused by [B]

[A] 由 [B] 造成

[A] yóu [B] zàochéng

[A] results from [B]

[A] 由 [B] 形成

[A] yóu [B] xíngchéng

[A] is formed by [B]

[A] 起源于 [B]

[A] qǐyuán yú [B]

[A] stems from [B]

[A] 来自于 [B]

[A] láizì yú [B]

[A] comes from [B]

Effects and results

[A] 引发 [B]

[A] yǐnfā [B]

[A] initiates [B]

[A] 引起 [B]

[A] yǐnqǐ [B]

[A] gives rise to [B]

[A] 突然引发 [B]

[A] tūrán yǐnfā [B]

[A] precipitates [B]

[A] 带来了 [B]

[A] dàilái le [B]

[A] brought about [B]

[A] 生产了 [B]

[A] shēngchǎn le [B]

[A] generated [B]

[A] 产生了 [B]

[A] chǎnshēng le [B]

[A] produced [B]

[A] 促使 [B]

[A] cùshǐ [B]

[A] induces [B]

[A] 导致了 [B]

[A] dàozhì le [B]

[A] lead to [B]

[A] 对 [B] 有相当大的影响

[A] duì [B] yǒu xiāngdāng dà de yǐngxiǎng

[A] has a fairly significant influence on [B]

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