因 yīn – cause, reason



Main meanings:

cause, reason

② because; because of.

③ follow, carry on.


HSK - STROKES - 6 RADICAL - 囗

Etymology:

Elements  ----  Ice 大 + matress, bed . Phonetic series 因.

A person 大 lying in bed 口during the daytime makes other people think that there is a reason for it.


Main Words:

因为    yīnwéi because  (because + on account of)

原因    yuányīncause, reason  (original + reason)

Discussion and sources

In some old books it si considered that this character is related to .囚 [qiú] imprison. Other researchers think that the character was originally the drawing of a mattress, but and analysis of the oldest Oracle Bone Characters showes that from the oldest forms a person ( 大) was present, en veloped first in what could be a blanket, and later on a mattress.



 
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