Recognize 因 in 原因, 要因 and 因果関係; learn each complete word in context.

The idea

原因 (げんいん) means cause; origin; 要因 (よういん) means contributing factor; 因果関係 (いんがかんけい) means causal relationship. 因 has 6 strokes; follow the linked KanjiVG diagram to write them in order. Learn each reading with its word. Sino-Japanese reading: イン（原因）.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
原因げんいんcause; origin
要因よういんcontributing factor
因果関係いんがかんけいcausal relationship

Examples

  • 事故じこの原因げんいんを調しらべています。We are investigating the cause of the accident.
  • 遅おくれた原因げんいんは雨あめでした。The cause of the delay was the rain.
  • 成功せいこうの要因よういんを考かんがえます。We consider the factors behind the success.
  • 天気てんきも一ひとつの要因よういんです。The weather is also one contributing factor.
  • この二ふたつに因果関係いんがかんけいがあるか調しらべます。We will investigate whether there is a causal link between these two things.
  • 因果関係いんがかんけいはまだ明あきらかではありません。The causal relationship is not yet clear.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

原因 is a cause; 要因 is a factor that contributes to a result. 因果関係 means a causal link: two events occurring together do not by themselves establish one. Compare 因 and 団; their components differ: 因＝囗＋大；団＝囗＋寸.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 原因 in hiragana.

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    げんいん

    原因 is read げんいん and means cause; origin.

  2. Write the reading of 要因 in hiragana.

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    よういん

    要因 is read よういん and means contributing factor.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿果関係（いんがかんけい）.

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    因

    因 completes 因果関係, read いんがかんけい; the word means causal relationship.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 因 from memory, then read 原因 and 要因 aloud and make a sentence with one of them.