Level 6 · Lesson 7

因此和无论
因此 and 无论

山上的天气变得很快，因此我们要早点儿出发。无论下不下雨，我们都去。

因此 is the formal 所以; 无论 and 不管 need something open inside them and a 都 in the second half.

听 · Listen

对话
 安娜 —  明天要是下雨，我们还去爬山吗？ 
If it rains tomorrow, are we still going up the mountain?  
 李明 —  不管下不下雨，我们都去。 
Rain or no rain, we're going.  
 安娜 —  那我要带伞。 
Then I'll bring an umbrella.  
 李明 —  好。无论去哪儿，都要带水。 
Good. Wherever we go, you have to bring water.  
 安娜 —  山上的天气变得很快，因此我们要早点儿出发。 
The weather up there changes fast, so we should set out early.  
 李明 —  对。无论谁来晚了，我们都不等。 
Right. No matter who turns up late, we're not waiting.  
 安娜 —  好吧。总之，六点在门口见。 
All right. In short: six o'clock at the gate.  
 李明 —  总之，早点儿到。 
In any case — be there early.  

讲解 · Explanation

天气变得很快，因此我们要早点儿出发。因此和所以很像，可是因此更正式，前面不用因为。

因此 is 'for this reason, hence'. It does the work of 所以, but in a higher register — a notice, a report, an essay, a careful speaker. That difference has one practical consequence: 因为 pairs with 所以, and 因此 does not take a 因为 in front of it. Say 因为下雨，所以我们没去, and say 昨天下了大雨，因此路上很堵. 因此 opens the result clause and stands on its own.

无论天气怎么样，我们都去。不管你来不来，我都在门口等。

无论 and 不管 mean 'no matter'. They come with two conditions, and both are strict. First, the clause after them must contain something open — a question word (谁, 什么, 哪儿, 怎么样, 多少) or an A-not-A pair (来不来, 下不下雨) or an A-or-B (是晴天还是雨天). 无论下雨，我都去 is not Chinese, because 无论 has nothing to range over. Second, the other half needs 都 or 也. 无论 is the written one; 不管 is what you actually say out loud, and it is read bùguǎn.

说了很多以后，可以用总之说出最重要的一句。总之，明天六点出发。

总之 is 'in short' or 'in any case'. It opens the clause that sums up everything you have just said, and it is a gift in conversation: when a sentence has run away from you, 总之 lets you land it. Notice one more thing in the dialogue — 无论谁来晚了 is about tomorrow morning, and it still has 了. 了 marks the arriving-late as complete, not as past.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
因此	for this reason, hence	正式；前面不用因为
无论	no matter (what, who, how)	无论…都…
不管	no matter (spoken)	说话时多用不管
总之	in short, in any case	总之，六点见。

练习 · Practice

无论你说什么，我______不同意。 No matter what you say, I don't agree.

哪个句子对？ Which sentence is correct?

天气变得很快，______我们要早点儿出发。 Fill in the formal word for 'hence'.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'No matter who asks, I won't say.'

因此、无论、不管、总之 Match each connective to its job.

用一用 · Use it

无论…都…。因此…。总之，…。

Say three things about yourself that nothing can change, each with 无论 and 都: 无论多忙，我都…; 无论谁问，我都…; 无论去哪儿，我都…. Then give one reason and its result out loud in the formal shape — 昨天下了大雨，因此… — and close the whole turn with 总之 and one short sentence.