How to write 因 (yīn, “cause”)
因 (yīn), an HSK 2 character, means “cause”, “reason” and “because”. As an enclosed character it splits into 囗 (“enclosure”, the radical), strokes 1–2 and 6; 大 (“big”), strokes 3–5, written with the strokes of the parts interleaved. On its own it is an HSK 6 word; it also forms 因为 (“because”), 原因 (“cause”) and 因此 (“thus”). Japanese reads it in, “cause”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- yīn
- Strokes
- 6
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 囗 (“enclosure”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdownwards → down and left
- Dot ㇔centerdown and right
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 6 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| yīn first tone | cause; reason; because | — | 因为 原因 因此 因而 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 2
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 108 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 因
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 因 | yīn | cause; reason HSK 6 |
| 因为 因為 | yīnwèi | because; owing to HSK 2 |
| 原因 | yuányīn | cause; origin HSK 4 |
| 因此 | yīncǐ | thus; consequently HSK 4 |
| 因而 | yīn’ér | therefore; as a result HSK 5 |
| 因素 | yīnsù | element; factor HSK 5 |
| 基因 | jīyīn | gene (loanword) HSK 6 |
| 因地制宜 | yīndì-zhìyí | (idiom) to use methods in line with local circumstances HSK 7-9 |
| 因人而异 因人而異 | yīnrén’éryì | varying from person to person (idiom); different for each individual HSK 7-9 |
| 前因 | qiányīn | antecedents |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: