How to use 由此
Earlier evidence / situation，由此 + inference / result
由此 points back to a fact, observation, or situation and uses it as the starting point for what follows. The next statement may describe a consequence or draw an inference. English wording therefore ranges from as a result to from this. The reference in 此 must be recoverable from earlier material rather than naming a new unexplained cause.
Place 由此 near the transition to the resulting statement. Established expressions such as 由此可见 explicitly introduce an inference, while a following event predicate can describe what the circumstances produced. Keep those two relationships separate: evidence can support a conclusion without causing the underlying fact. The expression is particularly useful in formal explanations and structured arguments.
Examples with pinyin and English
大家都按时完成了任务，由此可见，这个安排是可行的。
Everyone finished on time. From this, we can see that the arrangement is workable.
由此可见 introduces a conclusion based on the preceding evidence.
河水上涨，由此造成了交通中断。
The river rose, causing transport to be disrupted.
Here 由此 links circumstances to an actual consequence.
我们比较了两种方案，由此发现了几个问题。
We compared the two proposals and discovered several problems through that process.
此 refers back to the comparison as the basis for discovery.
What to remember
- Make 此 refer to clear earlier information.
- Distinguish an inference from an actual consequence.
- Use 由此可见 to introduce an evidenced conclusion.
Practise the pattern
Use one example as a model. Change the people, objects or situation, keeping the grammar pattern in the same order. Read the explanation again to check how your sentence uses the construction.
Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation and examples written for Laowai using the grammar curriculum as a topic reference. 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.