<p>木星(subject)</p>
<p>之('s)</p>
<p>所以(reason)</p>
<p>没有爆炸 (statement)</p>
<p>木星[之所以]没有爆炸 = [The reason why] Jupiter not exploded</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>美國[之所以]要援助烏克蘭，原因是為了打擊俄羅斯</p>
<p>[The reason way] the U.S. aids Ukraine is to weaken Russia</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T02:22:27.327Z
Is 所以 actually used as a noun in this case?
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T02:36:26.303Z
所以 is acting as a noun for "reason" here. "之所以" = "reason of"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-24T12:24:28.890Z
2023-06-24T12:32:22.920Z
2023-06-24T12:32:22.920Z
Tang Ho
<p>You are almost there. 之 + 所以 = it + therefore.</p>
<ul>
<li>木星(Jupiter)之(it)所以(therefore)没有爆炸(didn't explode), 是因为(was because)...</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T02:18:36.357Z
"it therefore" isn't grammatical English though. I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T04:07:37.077Z
Yes, "it" shall be dropped in English. But, my main point is that "之" can be used as a pronoun, here it equates to "它" (it).
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T04:13:16.683Z
I don't think this is a correct explanation.
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T12:03:02.110Z
Ignore the previous answer, try this: "Jupiter, therefore it didn't explode, is because of......", or this: "Jupiter, for the reason it didn't explode, is because of......"
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-24T13:19:21.937Z
2023-06-27T04:10:18.617Z
2023-06-27T04:10:18.617Z
r13
<p>我今天<code>之所以</code>迟到是因为路上堵车了.</p>
<p><code>The reason</code> I was late today is that there was traffic on the road.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-29T10:00:49.703Z
2023-06-29T10:00:49.703Z
Tom
<p>I’m reading Randall Munroe’s “What If 2” in Mandarin. (It’s the author of the popular cartoon xkcd.com)</p>
<p>There’s a chapter about placing a house-sized Jupiter in the middle of a neighborhood.</p>
<p>The sentence reads:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>一个20,000摄氏度的氢球将以不可思议的压力向外扩张。真实的木星<strong>之所以</strong>没有爆炸，是因为 […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Roughly: “A 20,000 degree ball of hydrogen will expand outward due to unbelievable pressure. The reason why the real Jupiter doesn’t explode is because…”</p>
<p>I understand that 之所以 means “the reason why”, and my dictionary confirms that.</p>
<p>However I don’t think 之所以 should be intended as one single word. Intuitively I can understand it as 之 + 所以 （therefore), however I’m not fully sure why it’s used as a noun modifier (木星之所以）</p>
<p>Can someone explain the grammar behind this construction?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T07:54:22.630Z
There's also the chengyu [不知所以](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=不知所以) = "to not know the reason / to not know what to do".
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-29T09:21:23.277Z
之所以……是因为…… is more or less a fixed phrase (固定搭配) meaning “the reason why … is because …”.  Etymologically, 之所以 is comprised of 之 + 所以, but in contemporary Mandarin, it almost always occurs as a fixed phrase together with 是因为, known as a pair of “connectives” (关联词) along with 因为……所以……, 虽然……但是……, 不仅……而且……, and so on in Chinese school grammar.
L. F.
<grammar><mandarin><phrase>
How to understand 之所以
# How to understand 之所以

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-06-24)

I’m reading Randall Munroe’s “What If 2” in Mandarin. (It’s the author of the popular cartoon xkcd.com)

There’s a chapter about placing a house-sized Jupiter in the middle of a neighborhood.

The sentence reads:

> 一个20,000摄氏度的氢球将以不可思议的压力向外扩张。真实的木星**之所以**没有爆炸，是因为 […]

Roughly: “A 20,000 degree ball of hydrogen will expand outward due to unbelievable pressure. The reason why the real Jupiter doesn’t explode is because…”

I understand that 之所以 means “the reason why”, and my dictionary confirms that.

However I don’t think 之所以 should be intended as one single word. Intuitively I can understand it as 之 + 所以 （therefore), however I’m not fully sure why it’s used as a noun modifier (木星之所以）

Can someone explain the grammar behind this construction?

**Tags:** grammar, mandarin, phrase
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There's also the chengyu [不知所以](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=不知所以) = "to not know the reason / to not know what to do".  
> **username_2**: 之所以……是因为…… is more or less a fixed phrase (固定搭配) meaning “the reason why … is because …”.  Etymologically, 之所以 is comprised of 之 + 所以, but in contemporary Mandarin, it almost always occurs as a fixed phrase together with 是因为, known as a pair of “connectives” (关联词) along with 因为……所以……, 虽然……但是……, 不仅……而且……, and so on in Chinese school grammar.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-06-24. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

木星(subject)

之('s)

所以(reason)

没有爆炸 (statement)

木星[之所以]没有爆炸 = [The reason why] Jupiter not exploded

~

美國[之所以]要援助烏克蘭，原因是為了打擊俄羅斯

[The reason way] the U.S. aids Ukraine is to weaken Russia

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Is 所以 actually used as a noun in this case?  
> **username_3**: 所以 is acting as a noun for "reason" here. "之所以" = "reason of"  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-06-24. Score: 1

You are almost there. 之 + 所以 = it + therefore.

* 木星(Jupiter)之(it)所以(therefore)没有爆炸(didn't explode), 是因为(was because)...

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: "it therefore" isn't grammatical English though. I'm not sure what you are trying to say.  
> **username_4**: Yes, "it" shall be dropped in English. But, my main point is that "之" can be used as a pronoun, here it equates to "它" (it).  
> **username_0**: I don't think this is a correct explanation.  
> **username_4**: Ignore the previous answer, try this: "Jupiter, therefore it didn't explode, is because of......", or this: "Jupiter, for the reason it didn't explode, is because of......"  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2023-06-29. Score: 0

我今天`之所以`迟到是因为路上堵车了.

`The reason` I was late today is that there was traffic on the road.


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