Reasons and Consequences

Cause, Reason, Result: Speaking About “Why” and “What Happens”

In this chapter you learn how to connect ideas in Persian when you explain why something happens and what its result is. You already know how to make basic sentences in different tenses. Now you will link those sentences with common Persian connectors for causes and consequences.

We focus on very frequent, everyday expressions that you can immediately use in conversations, stories, and opinions.

Basic Cause: “Because” in Persian

The most common way to give a reason in Persian is با این که you use special connectors. At B1 level you must be very comfortable with two very frequent ones: چون and برای اینکه.

چون works almost exactly like “because” in English and is usually followed by a full sentence with a verb.

Example:
من خسته‌ام چون زیاد کار کرده‌ام.
man khaste‑am chon ziyād kār karde‑am.
I am tired because I have worked a lot.

You can put the reason clause first or second.

چون باران می‌آید، بیرون نمی‌رویم.
chon bārān mi‑āyad, birun nemi‑ravim.
Because it is raining, we are not going out.

We can also say:
بیرون نمی‌رویم چون باران می‌آید.
birun nemi‑ravim chon bārān mi‑āyad.
We are not going out because it is raining.

برای اینکه is slightly longer and a bit more formal, although people use it in speech too. It usually introduces a fuller or clearer explanation of the reason.

من زود خوابیدم برای اینکه فردا امتحان دارم.
man zud khābidam barāye inke fardā emtehān dāram.
I went to bed early because I have an exam tomorrow.

Sometimes برای این‌که is written as two words with space or as one word, both are common in modern texts.

Other Common Words for “Because”

Native speakers do not always use only چون and برای اینکه. At B1 you should also recognize و use a few other frequent forms.

One very common spoken form is آخه which expresses “because” with an additional feeling like “well, you see” or “you know, because”. It often appears when you explain or justify something.

نمی‌توانم بیایم، آخه کار دارم.
nemitavānam biyāyam, ākhe kār dāram.
I cannot come, because I have things to do.

آخه is informal and is not usually used in formal writing.

A neutral and frequent connector in both speech and writing is چون که, literally “because that”. It works like چون but can sound slightly more explanatory.

ناراحت شدم چون که دیر آمدی.
nārāhat shodam chon ke dir āmad‑i.
I got upset because you came late.

Another group is made with the word دلیل “reason”. You can name the reason rather than put it in a full clause:

به این دلیل که …
be in dalil ke …
for this reason that …

For example:
او عصبانی است، به این دلیل که به او دروغ گفته‌اند.
u asabāni ast, be in dalil ke be u dorugh gofte‑and.
He is angry, for the reason that they have lied to him.

This construction is more typical of written or careful speech.

Expressing Purpose vs. Reason

It is important to see the difference between a reason and a purpose. In English both can use “for” or “because” in some contexts, but Persian has clearer forms.

You have already seen برای meaning “for”. When you say برایِ + noun or برای اینکه + sentence, it can express purpose “in order to”.

آمدم برای دیدن تو.
āmadam barāye didan‑e to.
I came (in order) to see you.

آمدم چون دلم برایت تنگ شده بود.
āmadam chon del‑am barāyat tang shode bud.
I came because I missed you.

In the first example, the focus is on the goal of the action. In the second, you state the emotional reason that caused the action. In real conversations there is sometimes overlap, but at B1 you should try to feel this difference.

You can show purpose more clearly with the particle که after برای این:

برای این که به‌موقع برسم، زود راه افتادم.
barāye in ke be‑mogh-e beresam, zud rāh oftādam.
In order to arrive on time, I set off early.

Here it is both a reason and a goal, but grammatically it works as purpose.

Saying “Therefore”, “So”, and “As a Result”

To move from reason to result, Persian uses several very high frequency connectors that you need in narration and opinion.

One of the most common is پس which means “so” or “then” in the sense of logical result.

باران می‌آید. پس بیرون نمی‌رویم.
bārān mi‑āyad. pas birun nemi‑ravim.
It is raining. So we are not going out.

You can put پس at the beginning of the result sentence.

مثلاً دیر بلند شدم، پس صبحانه نخوردم.
mesalan dir boland shodam, pas sobhāne nakhordam.
For example, I got up late, so I did not eat breakfast.

Another very common connector is برای همین or به همین دلیل. Both mean “for this reason” or “that is why”.

خسته بودم، برای همین زود خوابیدم.
khaste budam, barāye hamin zud khābidam.
I was tired, and for this reason I went to bed early.

ترافیک زیاد بود، به همین دلیل دیر رسیدم.
terāfik ziyād bud, be hamin dalil dir residam.
There was a lot of traffic, for this reason I arrived late.

In narrative speech, برای همین is very frequent. به همین دلیل sounds a bit more formal.

Another written style connector is در نتیجه which means “as a result”.

باران شدیدی می‌بارید، در نتیجه جاده بسته شد.
bārān‑e shadidi mi‑bārid, dar natije jāde baste shod.
It was raining heavily, as a result the road was closed.

نتیجه itself means “result”.

Cause and Result Inside One Sentence

In Persian you often connect cause and result inside the same sentence. You already know چون and برای اینکه for the reason part. Now combine them with result connectors or simply use word order and context.

A simple pattern is:

چون / برای اینکه + [reason], [main clause / result].

چون حالم خوب نبود، سرِ کار نرفتم.
chon hālam khub nabud, sar‑e kār naraftam.
Because I did not feel well, I did not go to work.

برای اینکه هوا خیلی سرد بود، بچه‌ها بیرون بازی نکردند.
barāye inke havā kheili sard bud, bachehā birun bāzi nakardand.
Because it was very cold, the children did not play outside.

You can also do the opposite: put the result first and the reason second.

سرِ کار نرفتم چون حالم خوب نبود.
sar‑e kār naraftam chon hālam khub nabud.
I did not go to work because I did not feel well.

There is no change in meaning, only in focus. Very often, speakers say the result first, then add the reason, especially in story-telling.

Sometimes both parts are short, and you rely on simple juxtaposition with یا “or” or و “and” but at B1 it is better to use explicit connectors to be clear.

Giving Personal Reasons and Opinions

In B1 you start expressing more complex opinions. You often need to say why you think something and what result you expect. There are some very frequent patterns for this.

To give a personal reason for your opinion, you can use چون فکر می‌کنم که, “because I think that”.

من این فیلم را دوست دارم چون فکر می‌کنم بازی‌ها خیلی خوب است.
man in film rā dust dāram chon fekr mikonam bāzi‑hā kheili khub ast.
I like this movie because I think the acting is very good.

You can also start with به نظر من, “in my opinion”, and then add a reason.

به نظر من این کتاب سخت نیست، چون زبانش ساده است.
be nazar‑e man in ketāb sakht nist, chon zabān‑ash sāde ast.
In my opinion this book is not difficult, because its language is simple.

When you predict a result based on your opinion, result connectors are very useful.

هوا خیلی گرم است، برای همین فکر می‌کنم امروز کم‌تر مردم بیرون بروند.
havā kheili garm ast, barāye hamin fekr mikonam emruz kam‑tar mardom birun beravand.
It is very hot, that is why I think fewer people will go out today.

In discussions, you will often hear a chain of reasons and results, especially with برای همین. Speakers build explanations step by step:

کارم را عوض کردم، چون حقوقم کم بود. برای همین، الان راضی‌ترم.
kāram rā avaz kardam, chon hoghugham kam bud. barāye hamin, alān rāzi‑tar‑am.
I changed my job, because my salary was low. That is why I am more satisfied now.

Consequences with “If … then …”

Conditional sentences belong to another chapter, but they are closely linked to reasons and consequences, so you will meet them in stories and explanations even now.

The simplest pattern uses اگر “if” and a result clause with a connector like در این صورت “in that case”. You will study the grammar in detail later, so here we only look at the function.

اگر دیر برسی، در این صورت کلاس را از دست می‌دهی.
agar dir beresi, dar in surat kelās rā az dast midahi.
If you arrive late, in that case you will miss the class.

Here the “if” clause expresses a condition, and the second shows the consequence. در این صورت is a neutral, slightly formal way to say “then / in that case” and is useful when you argue or explain rules.

Another everyday pattern in speech is:

اگر …، پس …
agar …, pas …

اگر امروز کار نکنم، پس فردا باید بیشتر کار کنم.
agar emruz kār nakonam, pas fardā bāyad bishtar kār konam.
If I do not work today, then tomorrow I must work more.

You can see how the logic of reasons and results works together with conditions.

Stronger Causality: “Because of”, “Due to”

Sometimes you use a noun, not a full clause, to express the cause. English uses “because of”, “due to”. In Persian, very common equivalents are به خاطرِ and به دلیلِ.

به خاطرِ means both “because of” and “for the sake of”. At B1, focus on its causal meaning.

به خاطرِ ترافیک دیر رسیدم.
be khāter‑e terāfik dir residam.
I arrived late because of the traffic.

You can also use it with pronouns:

به خاطرِ تو این کار را کردم.
be khāter‑e to in kār rā kardam.
I did this because of you.

به دلیلِ is more formal and often used together with abstract nouns.

به دلیلِ مشکلاتِ مالی، سفرمان را لغو کردیم.
be dalil‑e moshkelāt‑e māli, safar‑emān rā laghv kardim.
Due to financial problems, we cancelled our trip.

You can put the cause at the start or in the middle, and sometimes omit the short ezāfe vowel in speech, but in writing it is typically shown.

Expressing Logical Consequences and Conclusions

In opinions and arguments, you also need to express logical conclusions, not only concrete results. Persian uses some special expressions for this that are especially common in B1-B2 level discussion.

One very frequent word is بنابراین, “therefore”. It is more formal than پس, and you will see it in written texts, news, and prepared speech.

هزینه‌ها زیاد شده است، بنابراین باید کمتر خرج کنیم.
hazinehā ziyād shode ast, banābarin bāyad kam‑tar kharj konim.
Costs have increased, therefore we must spend less.

Similarly, در نتیجه which you saw earlier, is also used for logical conclusions.

این دارو عوارضِ زیادی دارد، در نتیجه نباید زیاد از آن استفاده کنیم.
in dāru avārez‑e ziyādi dārad, dar natije nabāyad ziyād az ān estefāde konim.
This medicine has many side effects, as a result we should not use it much.

In informal speech, people use خب at the start of the sentence to show they are drawing a conclusion. Grammatically it is not a connector like بنابراین, but functionally it often introduces a consequence.

هوا خیلی سرده، خب جاکت بپوش.
havā kheili sarde, khob jākat bepush.
It is very cold, so wear a jacket.

You do not need to overuse خب in writing, but you will hear it all the time.

Chains of Reasons and Results in Narration

In storytelling, you rarely have only one reason and one result. You will describe chains of events where each result becomes the next cause.

Look at this short narrative:

دیروز خواب ماندم، چون شب قبل دیر خوابیده بودم.
به همین دلیل، صبحانه نخوردم.
پس در مدرسه خیلی گرسنه بودم،
و در نتیجه حواسم سرِ کلاس نبود.

diruz khāb māndam, chon shab‑e ghabl dir khābide budam.
be hamin dalil, sobhāne nakhordam.
pas dar madrese kheili gorsne budam,
va dar natije havāsam sar‑e kelās nabud.

Yesterday I overslept, because I had gone to bed late the night before.
For this reason, I did not eat breakfast.
So at school I was very hungry,
and as a result I was not attentive in class.

Here you see:

Reason 1: چون شب قبل دیر خوابیده بودم.
Result 1 / Reason 2: دیروز خواب ماندم.
Result 2 / Reason 3: صبحانه نخوردم.
Result 3: گرسنه بودم، حواسم سرِ کلاس نبود.

At B1, practice building similar chains, using different connectors for variety: چون, برای اینکه, برای همین, به همین دلیل, پس, در نتیجه, بنابراین. This will make your narration more natural and more coherent.

Vocabulary Table