因此 / 因而

[82riceballs]

Hi all,

I've been reading a history textbook recently and coming across the conjunction 因而 a lot.

I've been confused though as to how it is different from 因此, since they both mean "as a result of..."

Here are the sentences I've encountered and my attempts at translation below-

1. 土地改革減輕農民負擔，提高生產意願，因而生產力增加。
Land reforms lessened the burdens of farmers and raised their motivation to produce more, thereby increasing productivity.

2. 美資在臺投資主要是把產品回銷本國市場，因而促進了臺灣對美國的出口。
American investment in Taiwan mainly made it so that products would be sold back to the U.S., thereby stimulating Taiwan's exports to the U.S.

3. 1968年，義務教育延長為九年，教育水準因而普遍提高。
In 1968, mandatory education was extended to nine years, thereby raising the overall level of education.
(The original Chinese sentence: 1968年，義務教育延長為九年，初中改稱國民中學。教育水準因而普遍提高，女性就讀中學比率大增。)

Couldn't the 因而 in the above sentences all be replaced with 因此?? or is there some subtle difference that I'm missing?

If it helps, on an online forum, I found the following explanation, although I'm not sure if it's correct:
因此：因为。。。就如此。。。------目的是说明原因，由于A原因---导致B结果
因而：因为。。。从而。。。。------目的是说明条件，由于A条件（变化）---导致B后果
所以：以。。。为根据 ------目的是说明B,根据在于A.

 

[SuperXW]

To me, it's as simple as: 因而=因此而
因=因為 (because)
因此=因為此 (because of this)
因而=因此而=因為此而 (because of this, so)
I think 因而 in your sentences can all be replaced with 因此, although very subtle difference could exist.
I don't agree with "因此：因为。。。就如此。。。"

Your experience reminds me my confusion when I'm facing the English conjunctions like "because, because of, due to", not to mention all the other words like "despite, despite of, in spite of..." "nonetheless, nevertheless, however, whereas..."

 

[j29682896]

Hi 82riceballs

1. 土地改革減輕農民負擔，提高生產意願，因而生產力增加。
2. 美資在臺投資主要是把產品回銷本國市場，因而促進了臺灣對美國的出口。
3. 1968年，義務教育延長為九年，教育水準因而普遍提高。

I think in these cases ,"因而" in the first two sentences both can be replaced with “因此” and “所以”. I don't think there are differences in meaning between them. At least, I can't sense it. However, "因而"and"因此"sound more formal, used more often in written form or a presentation."所以" sounds more colloquial.

Nevertheless, for the third sentence, if you replace “因而” with “所以” like this, 1968年，義務教育延長為九年，教育水準所以普遍提高。 It doesn't sound right to me.

If you wish to use “所以” in this sentence, you have to change the word order and also put "因為" in the sentence to make it sound right. And if you say it this way, 1968年，因為義務教育延長為九年，所以教育水準普遍提高。 It sounds less formal, but perfectly correct.

By the way, in the Chinese language , people usually use "因為"and"所以" at the same time while people only use "because" or "so" in English.

Good luck with your Chinese learning journey.

 

[82riceballs]

Thank you guys so much!!