TraceHanzi

于是 meaning in English

yúshì

thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence

HSK 4conjunctionTraditional 於是12 strokes

Meaning of 于是

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

yúshì
  1. thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence

How to use 于是

于是 links two events in a story, showing that the second action happened because of, or right after, the first. It usually starts the second clause and is common in both speech and writing. Example: 天下雨了，于是我们回家了。(Tiān xià yǔ le, yúshì wǒmen huí jiā le.) It started to rain, so we went home.

于 (yú) means "at" or "in" and 是 (shì) here means "this", so 于是 is literally "at this (point)". Picture a story pausing at this moment, and then the next thing happens.

Common mistake: Learners often use 于是 for general logical results or advice, like "so you should study". 于是 describes something that actually happened next, so use 所以 (suǒyǐ) for reasons and conclusions in general.

于是 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā不bù知zhī道dào该gāi怎zěn么me做zuò，于yú是shì便biàn找zhǎo我wǒ帮bāng忙máng。
Not knowing what to do, he asked me for help.
Alice 不bù知zhī道dào书shū本běn放fàng了le在zài哪nǎ里lǐ，于yú是shì便biàn去qù问wèn母mǔ亲qīn。
Alice, not knowing where to find the book, asked her mother where it was.
我wǒ认rèn为wéi我wǒ们men终zhōng于yú是shì时shí候hòu开kāi始shǐ做zuò那nà件jiàn事shì了le。
I think it's finally time for us to start doing that.
于yú是shì出chū现xiàn了le一yí个gè问wèn题tí，哪nǎ里lǐ能néng找zhǎo我wǒ们men需xū要yào的de机jī器qì。
Then arose the question of where we were to get the necessary machinery.
他tā觉jué得de她tā说shuō得de很hěn有yǒu道dào理lǐ，于yú是shì接jiē受shòu了le她tā的de建jiàn议yì。
He thought she spoke reasonably, so he accepted her suggestion.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

于 yú · to go · 3 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

是 shì · to be · 9 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

Related words

Words that share a character with 于是.

还是háishistill (as before); had better
是不是shì bu shìis or is not (used to form yes-no questions)
但是dànshìbut; however
可是kěshìbut; however; (used for emphasis) indeed
正是zhèngshìis precisely
老是lǎoshìalways
等于děngyúto equal; to be tantamount to
就是jiùshìexactly; precisely; only; simply; just
只是zhǐshìmerely; only; just; nothing but; simply
要是yàoshi(coll.) if
总是zǒngshìalways
终于zhōngyúat last; in the end

Questions about 于是

What does 于是 mean?

于是 (yúshì) means "thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence" and is used as a conjunction.

How do you write 于是?

于是 is made of 2 characters: 于 (3 strokes), 是 (9 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.

Is 于是 an HSK word?

Yes. 于是 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 于是 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 于是 is written 於是.

What is the difference between 于是 and 所以?

所以 marks a logical result and often pairs with 因为 (yīnwèi). 于是 marks what someone did next in a sequence of real events, so it fits narration. You do not say 因为...于是 as a fixed pair.

Can 于是 be used for future events or commands?

Usually not. 于是 describes things that already happened or are being told as a story. For plans or commands, use 所以 or 那么 (nàme) instead.

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