because

because - English

Alternative forms

bycause, becos, 'cause, cos, cuz, coz, 'cos, 'cuz, 'coz, b/c, bc, bcos, bcoz, bcus

Pronunciation

(stressed)
- (UK) IPA: /bɪˈkɒz/
- (UK, dated) IPA: /bɪˈkɔːz/
- (US) IPA: /biˈkɔz/, /biˈkʌz/, /bəˈkʌz/
- (New England, obsolete) IPA: /bɪˈkeɪz/
(unstressed)
- IPA: /bɪkəz/
Hyphenation: be‧cause

Adverb

because (not comparable)

(archaic) For the reason (that).
On account (of), for sake (of).
- My life is ruined because of you!
(by ellipsis) Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".

Derived terms

Translations

Albanian: sepse (sq), ngaqë (sq)
Arabic: بِسَبَب‎ (bisabab), لِأَجْلِ‎ (liʔajli), لِأَنَّ‎ (liʔanna)
- Egyptian Arabic: علشان‎ (ʕalašān), عشان‎ (ʕašān)
- Hijazi Arabic: عشان‎ (ʕašān), علشان‎ (ʕalašān), بسبب‎ (bisabab)
- North Levantine Arabic: لأن‎ (laʔan)
- South Levantine Arabic: لأنّه‎ (liʔanno), عشان‎ (ʕašān)
- Tunisian Arabic: فِي جُرّةْ‎ (fī jurrit)
Armenian: քանի որ (kʿani or)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܸܢ ܥܸܠܲܬ‎ (min ʿillat), ܒܗ̇ܝ ܕ-‎ (bay d-), ܡܸܢ ܕ-‎ (min d-)
Bashkir: өсөн (ösön)
Bengali: জন্য (bn) (jonno)
Bulgarian: защото (bg) (zaštoto), поради (bg) (poradi)
Chinese:
- Cantonese: 因為／因为 (jan¹ wai⁶)
- Dungan: йинви (yinvi)
- Mandarin: 因為／因为 (zh) (yīnwèi)
Czech: kvůli (cs)
Danish: på grund af
Dutch: omdat (nl), dewijl (nl), want (nl), vermits (nl), daar (nl)
Esperanto: pro (eo)
Finnish: takia (fi), koska (fi) (informal, in "koska korona"), vuoksi (fi), tähden (fi), johdosta (fi), johtuen (fi), ansiosta (fi)
French: à cause de (fr), parce que (fr), à cause que (fr)
Galician: porque (gl), alor
Georgian: გამო (gamo)
German: wegen (de)
Greek: εξαιτίας (el) (exaitías)
- Ancient: ἕνεκα (héneka)
Hebrew: בגלל‎ (biglál)
Hungarian: miatt (hu)
Icelandic: vegna (is)
Ido: nam (io)
Italian: perché (it), imperciocchè, poiché (it), siccome (it)
Jamaican Creole: bikaaz, bikaazn
Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: ji ber ku (ku)
Latin: propter (+acc.), ob (la) (+acc.), ex (la) (+abl.), causā (la) (+gen.), prō (la) (+abl.)
Latvian: jo (lv), tāpēc
Lithuanian: nes
Macedonian: поради (poradi)
Malay: kerana (ms), sebab (ms)
Navajo: háálá
Norwegian:
- Bokmål: på grunn av (no)
Old English: for (+dative)
Persian: به خاطر‎ (be xâtere), چون‎ (fa) (čon)
Polish: ponieważ (pl), bo (pl) (informal, spoken), gdyż (pl), albowiem (pl), bowiem (pl), abociem (pl) (archaic), wszak (pl), dlatego że (pl)
Portuguese: porque (pt), pois (pt), que (pt), por causa de (pt), devido a (pt)
Romanian: datorită (ro) (positive consequence), din cauza (negative consequence), deoarece (ro)
Russian: и́з-за (ru) (íz-za)
Rusyn: затоже (zatože)
Serbo-Croatian: zbog
Slovene: zaradi (sl)
Spanish: por (es), debido a, a causa de
Swahili: kwa sababu
Swedish: på grund av (sv)
Tamil: ஏனென்றால் (ta) (ēṉeṉṟāl)

Arabic: هكذا‎ (hākaḏā), بلا سبب‎ (bilā sabab)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܗܵܕܟ݂ܵܐ‎ (hādḵā), ܗܵܕܲܟ݂‎ (hādaḵ)
Bengali: কারণ (bn) (karon)
Chinese:
- Mandarin: 沒有為什麼／没有为什么 (méiyǒu wéishénme), 沒為什麼／没为什么 (méi wéishénme)
Czech: protože proto, proto (cs)
Dutch: daarom (nl)
Finnish: koska (fi), syystä että, siksi että
French: parce que c'est comme ça, parce que (fr)
German: deshalb (de), darum (de), deswegen (de)
Greek: γιατί έτσι (giatí étsi), έτσι (el) (étsi)
Hebrew: כָּכָה‎ (he) (kácha)
Hungarian: csak (hu)
Italian: perché sì
Japanese: どうしても (dōshitemo)
Portuguese: porque sim (positive), porque não (negative)
Korean: 아무튼 (ko) (amuteun), 여하튼 (ko) (yeohateun)
Norwegian:
- Bokmål: fordi (no)
Polish: bo tak
Romanian: de-aia, fiindcă (ro)
Russian: потому́ что (ru) (potomú što)
Spanish: porque sí (positive), porque no (negative)
Swedish: därför (sv)
Tatar: чөнки (çönki)
Turkish: öyle işte, işte (tr)

Conjunction

because

By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
- I hid myself because I was afraid.
As is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that.
- It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.
- I don't think he is a nice person, because he yells at people for no reason.
(obsolete) So that, in order that.

Synonyms

(for the reason that): therefore, since, for, for that, forthy, for sake, forwhy (obsolete), as, inasmuch as, sith (obsolete), ∵ (mathematics symbol); see also because

Derived terms

Translations

Abkhaz: избанзар (izbanzar)
Afrikaans: omdat (af), aangesien (af)
Albanian: sepse (sq)
American Sign Language: OpenB@Sfhead Y@FromSfhead
Arabic: لِأَنَّ‎ (liʔanna)
- Egyptian Arabic: علشان‎ (ʕalašān), عشان‎ (ʕašān)
- Hijazi Arabic: لإن‎ (liʔinn), لأن‎ (liʔann), عشان‎ (ʕašān)
- North Levantine Arabic: لأنو‎ (laʔanno)
- South Levantine Arabic: لأنو‎ (laʔinnu)
- Moroccan Arabic: حيت‎ (ḥīt), حيتاش‎ (ḥītāš), على حقاش‎ (ʕla ḥaqqāš), لنو‎ (linnu)
- Tunisian Arabic: عْلَى خَاطِرْ‎ (ʕlā xāṭer)
- Yemeni Arabic: علشان‎ (ʕalašān)
Aramaic:
- Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܣܵܒܵܒ‎ (sābāb), ܡܸܛܠ‎ (miṭṭul)
- Hebrew: מִטּוּל‎ (miṭṭūl)
- Syriac: ܡܛܠ‎ (meṭṭūl)
Armenian: որովհետև (hy) (orovhetew), քանզի (hy) (kʿanzi), քանի որ (kʿani or)
Aromanian: cã
Asturian: porque (ast)
Azerbaijani: çünki (az), ona görə ki
Bashkir: сөнки (sönki)
Belarusian: таму́ што (tamú što), бо (bo)
Bengali: কারণ (bn) (karon), কেননা (bn) (kenona)
Breton: peogwir (br), abalamour ma, en abeg ma, rak ma
Bulgarian: защо́то (bg) (zaštóto), тъй като́ (tǎj kató), поне́же (bg) (ponéže)
Burmese: လို့ (my) (lui.)
Catalan: perquè (ca), ja que (ca), car (ca), puix (ca), puix que
Chichewa: chifukwa
Chinese:
- Cantonese: 因為／因为 (jan¹ wai⁶)
- Hakka: 因為／因为 (yîn-vi), 因爭／因争 (yîn-chên)
- Mandarin: 因為／因为 (zh) (yīnwèi), (more formal) 由於／由于 (zh) (yóuyú)
- Min Nan: 因為／因为 (zh-min-nan) (in-ūi)
Crimean Tatar: çünki
Czech: protože (cs)
Danish: fordi (da), eftersom, da (da)
Dutch: omdat (nl), aangezien (nl), daar (nl) (formal)
Egyptian: (ḏr ntt), (n ntt), (ḥr ntt), (ḥr)
Esperanto: ĉar (eo)
Estonian: kuna (et), seepärast, sest (et)
Ewe: elabena
Faroese: tí, tí at
Finnish: koska (fi), siksi että
French: parce que (fr), car (fr), à cause que (fr)
Georgian: იმიტომ რომ (imiṭom rom), რადგანაც (radganac), რადგან (radgan), გამო (gamo)
German: weil (de), denn (de), da (de)
Greek: διότι (el) (dióti), επειδή (el) (epeidí), γιατί (el) (giatí)
- Ancient: γάρ (gár), ἐπεί (epeí), διότι (dióti), ὅτι (hóti), ὡς (hōs), οὕνεκα (hoúneka), διό (dió)
Haitian Creole: paske
Hawaiian: no, no ka mea, ma, i, ma o, muli
Hebrew: כִּי‎ (he) (kí), בִּגְלַל שֶׁ־‎ (biglál she-) (with a negative consequence)
Hindi: क्योंकि (kyoṅki)
Hungarian: mert (hu), mivel (hu)
Icelandic: því (is), af því, því að (is), af því að (is), vegna (is), vegna þess, vegna þess að, út af því að
Ido: pro ke (io)
Indonesian: karena (id), sebab (id)
Interlingua: proque
Irish: óir, mar (ga), toisc go, arae, de bhrí go
- Old Irish: hóre
Italian: perché (it)
Japanese: なぜなら (ja) (nazenara), だって (ja) (datte), (...) から (ja) (kara), ので (ja) (node), ために (tame ni)
Kabyle: acku
Kashubian: bò
Kazakh: өйткені (öitkenı), себебі (sebebı)
Khmer: ព្រោះ (km) (prʊəh), ពីព្រោះ (km) (pii-prʊəh)
Konkani: ಇತ್ಯಮ್ಹಳೆರಿ (ityamhaḷeri)
Korean: (이기) 때문에 ((-igi) ttaemune)
Kumyk: неге тюгюл (nege tügül)
Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: بۆ ئەوە‎ (bo ewe), چونکە‎ (çunke)
- Northern Kurdish: çimkî (ku), ji ber ku (ku)
Kyrgyz: анткени (ky) (antkeni), себеби (ky) (sebebi)
Ladin: ajache
Lao: ເພາະ (phǫ), ເນື່ອງ (nư̄ang), ແຕ່ເນື່ອງຈາກ (tǣ nư̄ang chāk)
Latin: quia (la), quod (la), quoniam (la), cum (la), prō eō quod, proptereā quod
Latvian: jo (lv), tāpēc, tāpēc ka, tādēļ, tādēļ ka
Lithuanian: nes, todėl, kad
Livonian: sīest, sīestõ
Low German: ümdat, dor (nds)
Luxembourgish: well
Macedonian: затоа што (zatoa što), бидејќи (bidejḱi)
Malay: kerana (ms), sebab (ms), karena (ms)
Maltese: minħabba, għaliex
Manchu: ᠣᡶᡳ (ofi), ᠰᡝᠮᡝ (seme)
Maore Comorian: mana
Maori: nā te mea, nō te mea, tā te mea, tō te mea
Mbyá Guaraní: mba'e ta
Mongolian: яагаад гэвэл (jaagaad gevel), болохоор (boloxoor)
Mwani: konta, kamana
Navajo: háálá
Neapolitan: pecché
Nepali: किनकि (kinaki)
Norman: passequé (Guernsey)
Norwegian:
- Bokmål: fordi (no), ettersom (no), da (no)
- Nynorsk: av di, fordi, ettersom, då
Occitan: perque
Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: пон҄еже (ponʹeže)
Old English: for þon þe
Old Polish: tegodla
Pashto: ځکه چې‎ (źëka če)
Persian: زیرا‎ (fa) (zirâ), چونکه‎ (fa) (čunke), چون‎ (fa) (čun), بدلیل‎ (fa); برای این‌که‎ (barâye in-ke)
Pitjantjatjara: -nguru, -languru, panya
Polish: bo (pl), ponieważ (pl), dlatego że (pl), gdyż (pl), albowiem (pl), bowiem (pl), abociem (pl) (archaic), wszak (pl)
Portuguese: porque (pt), já que (pt)
Romani: kaj
Romanian: pentru că, din cauză că, datorită (ro), deoarece (ro)
Romansch: perquai che, damai che
Russian: потому́ что (ru) (potomú što), та́к как (ru) (ták kak), поско́льку (ru) (poskólʹku), ведь (ru) (vedʹ), и́бо (ru) (íbo) (literary), поне́же (ru) (ponéže) (archaic, rare)
Sanskrit: उपजीव्य (sa) (upajīvya), हि (sa) (hi)
Scottish Gaelic: oir
Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: је̏р, је̏рбо (archaic)
- Roman: jȅr (sh), jȅrbo (sh) (archaic)
Slovak: pretože
Slovene: ker (sl)
Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: dokulaž
Spanish: porque (es), ya que (es), por cuanto
Swahili: kwa sababu
Swedish: därför att (sv), eftersom (sv)
Tagalog: (literally) dahil
Tajik: чунки (tg) (čunki), чун (čun), зеро (zero)
Talysh:
- Asalemi: چون‎ (cun)
Tatar: чөнки (çönki)
Thai: เพราะ (th) (prɔ́)
Tibetan: གང་ཡིན་ཟེར་ན (gang yin zer na), ཙང (tsang), ག་རེ་ཡིན་ཟེར་ན (ga re yin zer na)
Turkish: çünkü (tr)
Turkmen: çünki, zerarly (tk), sebäbi
Ukrainian: бо (uk) (bo), тому́ (tomú), тому́ що (tomú ščo), та́к як (ták jak), оскі́льки (oskílʹky), а́дже (uk) (ádže), внаслі́док (vnaslídok), унаслі́док (unaslídok)
Urdu: کیونکہ‎ (kyoṅki)
Uzbek: negaki (uz), chunki (uz)
Venetian: parché (vec)
Vietnamese: tại vì, vì (vi), bởi vì
Walloon: paski (wa), ca (wa)
Welsh: achos (cy), oherwydd
West Frisian: meidat, omdat, mei't, om't (fy)
Wolof: ndax (wo)
Yiddish: ווײַל‎ (vayl), וואָרעם‎ (vorem), וואָרן‎ (vorn), מחמת‎ (makhmes), נאַכסאָל‎ (nakhsol)
Zealandic: om'a
Zhuang: aenvih

Bengali: কেননা (bn) (kenona)
Danish: på grund af
Finnish: koska (fi), sillä (fi), siksi että
Georgian: გამო (gamo)
German: denn (de)
Hungarian: mivel (hu), ugyanis (hu), minthogy (hu)
Latin: quoniam (la), cum (la), quippe quī, quandoquidem, prō eō quod
Macedonian: бидејќи (bidejḱi)
Old English: for þon þe
Pashto: ځکه چې‎ (źëka če)
Portuguese: porque (pt)
Romanian: deoarece (ro)
Russian: потому́ что (ru) (potomú što)
Scottish Gaelic: oir
Slovene: saj
Spanish: ya que (es), por cuanto

Preposition

because

(colloquial, Internet slang) On account of, because of.
- He rejected me because revenge, I guess.
- It doesn't work because reasons.

Derived terms

because reasons

because - French

Pronunciation

IPA: /bi.koz/

Preposition

because

(colloquial) Synonym of à cause de (“because of”)
- La fenêtre était ouverte because la chaleur aoûtienne, si moite. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)