导致 meaning in English
to lead to; to create; to cause; to bring about
Meaning of 导致
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to lead to; to create; to cause; to bring about
How to use 导致
导致 links a cause to a result, and the result is usually negative or unwanted. It is common in news, formal writing and careful speech. Example: 熬夜导致他第二天很累。(Áoyè dǎozhì tā dì-èr tiān hěn lèi.) Staying up late made him very tired the next day.
导 (dǎo) means to guide or lead, as in 导游 (dǎoyóu, tour guide), and 致 (zhì) means to bring about a result. A guide leads you to a destination, so 导致 is something that leads to a result.
Common mistake: Learners often use 导致 for good outcomes, as in 努力导致成功. This sounds odd to native speakers, who would say 努力带来成功 or 努力使他成功 instead. Also, 致 (zhì) has a fourth tone, so do not say it flat like 只 (zhǐ) or 知 (zhī).
导致 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
导 dǎo · to direct · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
致 zhì · to send · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Related words
Words that share a character with 导致.
| 导演 | dǎoyǎn | to direct; director (film etc) |
| 领导 | lǐngdǎo | lead; leading |
| 指导 | zhǐdǎo | to guide; to direct; to instruct; coach; trainer |
| 一致 | yīzhì | consistent; unanimous; in agreement; together; in unison |
| 引导 | yǐndǎo | to guide; to lead (around) |
| 导游 | dǎoyóu | tour guide; guidebook |
| 细致 | xìzhì | delicate; fine |
| 向导 | xiàngdǎo | guide |
| 大致 | dàzhì | more or less; roughly; approximately |
| 主导 | zhǔdǎo | leading; dominant |
| 倡导 | chàngdǎo | to advocate; to initiate |
| 此致 | cǐzhì | (used at the end of a letter to introduce a polite salutation) |
Questions about 导致
What does 导致 mean?
导致 (dǎozhì) means "to lead to; to create; to cause; to bring about" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 导致?
导致 is made of 2 characters: 导 (6 strokes), 致 (10 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 导致 an HSK word?
Yes. 导致 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 导致 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 导致 is written 導致.
What is the difference between 导致 and 造成?
Both mean to cause and both usually describe bad results. 造成 (zàochéng) often takes a noun object like 损失 (loss) or 影响 (impact). 导致 more easily takes a whole clause, such as 导致他迟到 (caused him to be late).
Can 导致 be used in casual conversation?
Yes, but it sounds a bit formal. In everyday speech people often just say 所以 (suǒyǐ, so) or 害得 (hài de, caused someone trouble), for example 下雨害得我迟到了 (the rain made me late).