Cause and result in writing: 由于…因此…
The written counterpart of 因为…所以…. 由于 introduces the cause, which can be a whole clause or just a noun phrase; 因此 introduces the result and can also stand alone.
Structure
由于 + 原因（句子／名词短语），（因此／所以）+ 结果
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
， “Owing to the bad weather, the flight was delayed.” does the same job as but in a more formal register: it is the word of notices, news items and the reading passages on the HSK 4 paper.
Two things set apart. First, the cause can be a plain noun phrase, which resists in writing: ， “Thanks to everyone’s effort, we finished the task on time.” Second, the clause almost always comes first. can follow the result — ， — but rarely does.
marks the result. It pairs naturally with , and it can also link two separate sentences on its own, where would sound conversational: ， “He practises every day, and so he has improved quickly.” Like , opens its clause; it is never the word that introduces the cause.
What neither word can do is ask a question. states a cause that is known; to ask why, use .
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
由于天气不好，飞机推迟起飞了。由於天氣不好，飛機推遲起飛了。
Yóuyú (second tone, rising) tiānqì (first tone, high and level) bù (fourth tone, falling) hǎo, (third tone, dipping) fēijī (first tone, high and level) tuīchí (first tone, high and level) qǐfēi (third tone, dipping) le. (neutral tone)···
Owing to the bad weather, the flight was delayed.
由于大家的努力，我们按时完成了任务。由於大家的努力，我們按時完成了任務。
Yóuyú (second tone, rising) dàjiā (fourth tone, falling) de (neutral tone) nǔlì, (third tone, dipping) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) ànshí (fourth tone, falling) wánchéngle (second tone, rising) rènwu. (fourth tone, falling)···
Thanks to everyone’s effort, we finished the task on time.
他每天坚持练习，因此提高得很快。他每天堅持練習，因此提高得很快。
Tā (first tone, high and level) měitiān (third tone, dipping) jiānchí (first tone, high and level) liànxí, (fourth tone, falling) yīncǐ (first tone, high and level) tígāo (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) hěn (third tone, dipping) kuài. (fourth tone, falling)···
He practises every day, and so he has improved quickly.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 因此天气不好，飞机推迟起飞了。
Correct
Correct sentence: 由于天气不好，飞机推迟起飞了。
Why: 因此 introduces the result, never the cause. The cause takes 由于 (or 因为).
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 由于天气不好，因为飞机推迟起飞了。
Correct
Correct sentence: 由于天气不好，因此飞机推迟起飞了。
Why: Both clauses now claim to be the cause. The second clause is the result and takes 因此 or 所以.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 由于什么你没来上课？
Correct
Correct sentence: 你为什么没来上课？
Why: 由于 states a known cause; it is not a question word. Ask with 为什么.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
因为…所以… is the all-purpose pair and the one to use in conversation. 由于…因此… belongs to writing and formal speech. Beyond register, 由于 accepts a noun-phrase cause (由于大家的努力) and keeps to the front of the sentence, while 因为 can trail the result (他没来，是因为病了). 因此 can open a new sentence that follows from the last one; 所以 can too, but sounds chattier there.
Cause and result: 因为…所以… →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Choose the word that completes 由于路上堵车，___我们迟到了半个小时。