所以

所以 suǒyǐ

So (therefore)

What 所以 means

  1. So (therefore)

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 所以 will read it the same way this page does.

Recognise a piece of 所以 but not the character it belongs to? Pick the parts in the component character finder and it will name the character for you — free for every character, with nothing to sign in to.

Character by character

所以 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

所
suǒ
Place (actually - mw for buildings - what - [preceding a verb])
以
yǐ
Use (by - for - within - because - in order to)

How to write 所以

Stroke order is not decoration — it is what makes handwriting legible and what dictionary lookup by stroke count depends on.

Practise 所以 on printable 田字格 sheets, trace it in the writing practice tool, or watch any other character in the Stroke Order Animator.

所以 in a sentence

今天很忙,所以我很累。
Jīntiān hěn máng, suǒyǐ wǒ hěn lèi.
Today was busy, so I'm tired.
因为很近,所以我走路去。
Yīnwèi hěn jìn, suǒyǐ wǒ zǒu lù qù.
Because it's close, I walk there.

Every sentence on this site that uses 所以 is collected on the 所以 sentence page. Want pinyin above a sentence of your own? Paste it into the Pinyin Annotator.

Questions about 所以

What does 所以 mean in English?

所以 is pronounced suǒyǐ and means So (therefore).

How do you pronounce 所以?

所以 is suǒyǐ in pinyin — written suoyi without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 所以?

所以 is written with 2 characters: 所 (suǒ) Place (actually - mw for buildings - what - [preceding a verb]), 以 (yǐ) Use (by - for - within - because - in order to). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

Is 所以 an HSK word?

Yes — 所以 is on the official HSK 2 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 2 page.

Studied around the same time

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Translate a whole sentence containing 所以 with the Chinese to Pinyin translator, study it alongside the rest of HSK 2, drill it with HSK flashcards, or save it above and review it on your review deck.

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