How to use 由于
由于 + cause，result
由于 introduces the cause behind a situation, often in explanatory or formal writing. The cause may be a noun phrase naming a circumstance or a clause explaining what happened. The following statement describes the consequence, decision, or response arising from it. This makes the structure useful when accounting for developments rather than merely placing two events next to each other.
A sentence may include 所以 or 因此 before the result, although the causal relationship can remain clear without either. Keep the cause and consequence logically distinct. Compared with everyday 因为, 由于 often sounds more like a report or explanation, but its register does not make every possible causal statement equally natural.
Examples with pinyin and English
由于温室效应的影响，全球的气候变得越来越反常了。
Due to the influence of the greenhouse effect, the whole Earth's climate is getting more and more abnormal.
由于意见不一致，两位老板吵了起来。
Due to differing opinions, the two bosses started to argue.
由于公司发展的需要，我们打算再招聘一些新的员工。
Due to the our company's needs for development, we plan to hire more new staff.
由于目标客户的变化，企业的营销策略需要做出一些调整。
Due to the changes in our target clients, our comorporate marketing strategies need some adjustments.
What to remember
- Place the cause after 由于.
- Let the next clause explain the resulting situation.
- Use the formal tone where an explanation calls for it.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.