Deep End
← Grammar guides

Level Upper-Intermediate Chinese · HSK 4

And So, In the End, Luckily, No Wonder: 于是, 结果, 幸亏, 难怪

These words link events in a story and add the speaker's view of them. 于是 moves the story on to a reaction; 结果 reports how things turned out, often unexpectedly; 幸亏 says a lucky circumstance prevented something bad; 难怪 says a new fact explains something you'd noticed.

于是 and 结果

于是 (yúshì) means 'and so, thereupon': because of the first event, someone did something. It links two past events in a narrative and normally opens the second clause. It's not used for advice or the future: for 'so you should…' use 所以.

结果 (jiéguǒ) means 'as a result, in the end'. It often introduces an outcome that was unexpected or disappointing: 他没复习，结果没考上 (he didn't revise, and sure enough he failed). As a noun it means 'result': 考试结果.

  • 他觉得头疼，于是去医院看了医生。

    Tā juéde tóu téng, yúshì qù yīyuàn kànle yīshēng.

    He had a headache, so he went to the hospital to see a doctor.

  • 我以为只是感冒，结果是肺炎。

    Wǒ yǐwéi zhǐ shì gǎnmào, jiéguǒ shì fèiyán.

    I thought it was just a cold, but it turned out to be pneumonia.

幸亏…不然 and 难怪 / 怪不得

幸亏 (xìngkuī) means 'luckily, thanks to': it names the fortunate circumstance, and 不然 or 否则 often follows with the bad thing that would have happened. 幸亏你提醒我，不然我就忘了 (luckily you reminded me, or I'd have forgotten). 幸好 (xìnghǎo) is a near synonym.

难怪 (nánguài) and 怪不得 (guàibude) mean 'no wonder'. They come before the thing that now makes sense, and the explanation can come before or after: 他昨天没睡觉，难怪这么累 (he didn't sleep last night; no wonder he's so tired). 原来 (yuánlái, so that's why) often introduces the explanation.

  • 幸亏送得及时，不然后果会很严重。

    Xìngkuī sòng de jíshí, bùrán hòuguǒ huì hěn yánzhòng.

    Luckily he was brought in in time; otherwise the consequences could have been serious.

  • 难怪他今天没来上班，原来是生病了。

    Nánguài tā jīntiān méi lái shàng bān, yuánlái shì shēng bìng le.

    No wonder he didn't come to work today: it turns out he's ill.

  • 怪不得这么便宜，原来是二手的。

    Guàibude zhème piányi, yuánlái shì èrshǒu de.

    No wonder it's so cheap: it's second-hand.

Common mistakes

  • ✗明天会下雨，于是你应该带伞。

    ✓明天会下雨，所以你应该带伞。

    Míngtiān huì xià yǔ, suǒyǐ nǐ yīnggāi dài sǎn.

    于是 narrates what someone did next. For a conclusion or advice, use 所以.

  • ✗幸亏你提醒我，我忘了。

    ✓幸亏你提醒我，不然我就忘了。

    Xìngkuī nǐ tíxǐng wǒ, bùrán wǒ jiù wàng le.

    Without 不然, the sentence says you forgot. The unwanted outcome needs 不然 or 否则.

  • ✗他不舒服，怪不得。

    ✓怪不得他没来，原来是不舒服。

    Guàibude tā méi lái, yuánlái shì bù shūfu.

    In a sentence, 难怪 / 怪不得 comes before the thing that now makes sense; it isn't tacked on at the end like English 'no wonder'. (On its own, 怪不得！ works as an exclamation.)

Questions learners ask

Is 结果 always negative?

No, but it often introduces an outcome the speaker didn't expect, and that is frequently a disappointment. For a neutral 'therefore', use 所以 or 因此.

What's the difference between 难怪 and 怪不得?

None in meaning. 怪不得 is a little more colloquial.

Practice this in lessons

The Upper-Intermediate Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

Practice this in lessons →

Related grammar guides