reason; cause
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Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesnoun
reason; cause; origin
informalA colloquial term for 'reason' or 'cause'. In spoken Mandarin, it can take the retroflex suffix '-r' (儿化音) as '因由儿' (yīn yóur). Often used in patterns like '问明因由' (to ask for the reason) or '查明因由' (to find out the cause).
Nǐ你
xiān先
bǎ把
shì事
qing情
de的
yīn因
yóu由
shuō说
qīng清
chu楚
。
First, explain clearly the cause of the matter.
Wèn问
míng明
yīn因
yóu由
zhī之
hòu后
，
lǎo老
shī师
cái才
jué决
dìng定
rú如
hé何
chǔ处
lǐ理
。
Only after asking for the reason did the teacher decide how to handle it.
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Tā他
jīn今
tiān天
méi没
lái来
，
qí其
zhōng中
bì必
yǒu有
yīn因
yóu由
。
He didn't come today; there must be some reason for it.
Nǐ你
bié别
guǎn管
zhè这
me么
duō多
yīn因
yóu由
，
zhào照
zuò做
jiù就
shì是
le了
。
Don't worry about so many reasons; just do as you're told.