# because
## English
### Alternative forms

* (obsolete) bycause, (dialectal) becos
* (slang) 'cause, cos, cuz, coz, 'cos, 'cuz, 'coz, b/c, bc, bcos, bcoz, bcs, bcz, bcus
* (logic) ∵

### Etymology

From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.

### Pronunciation

* (stressed)
** (UK) IPA: /bɪˈkɒz/, /bɪˈkʌz/, (dated) /bɪˈkɔːz/, /bɪˈkɔːs/
*** Audio (London):(file)
** (US) IPA: /biˈkɔz/, /biˈkʌz/, /bəˈkɔz/, /bəˈkʌz/, /bɪˈkɔz/, /bɪˈkʌz/
*** Audio (US):(file)
** (General Australian) IPA: /biːˈkɔːz/
** (New England, obsolete) IPA: /bɪˈkeɪz/
* (unstressed)
** IPA: /bɪkəz/
** (General Australian) IPA: /bəˈkɔːz/, /bəˈkɒz/
* Hyphenation: be‧cause
* Rhymes: -ɒz, -ʌz, -ɔːz, -ɔːs

### Conjunction

because
* By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
    I hid myself because I was afraid.
** 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.
** 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
** 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:“Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.
* 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. [15th–17th c.]
** 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 2:Simon […] set the house on fire where he was born, because nobody should point at it.

#### Synonyms

* (for the reason that): therefore, since, for, for that, on account of (southern slang), forthy, for sake, forwhy (obsolete), as, inasmuch as, sith (obsolete), ∵ (mathematics symbol); see also Thesaurus:because

#### Derived terms

* because is why
* because you touch yourself at night
* for because

#### Translations

Abkhaz: избанзар (izbanzar)
Afrikaans: omdat (af), aangesien (af)
Albanian: sepse (sq) , se (sq) (geg)
American Sign Language: OpenB@Sfhead Y@FromSfhead
Arabic: لِأَنَّ (liʔanna)
Egyptian Arabic: علشان (ʕalašān), عشان (ʕašān)
Hijazi Arabic: لإن (liʔinn), لأن (liʔann), عشان (ʕašān)
Moroccan Arabic: حيت (ḥīt), حيتاش (ḥītāš), على حقاش (ʕla ḥaqqāš), لنو (linnu)
North Levantine Arabic: لأنو (leʔanno)
South Levantine Arabic: لأنو (leʔanno)
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) (kʻanzi), քանի որ (kʻani or), զերե (hy) (zere)
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 (jan$^1$ wai$^6$)
Hakka: 因為 / 因为 (yîn-vi), 因爭 / 因争 (yîn-chên)
Hokkien: 因為 / 因为 (zh-min-nan) (in-ūi)
Mandarin: 因為 / 因为 (zh) (yīnwèi), (more formal) 由於 / 由于 (zh) (yóuyú), 因 (zh) (yīn)
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 (kyõki)
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)
Jamaican Creole: kaa
Japanese: なぜなら (ja) (nazenara) (at the beginning of a clause), だって (ja) (datte), (...) から (ja) (kara), ので (ja) (node), ために (tame ni)
K'iche': -umal, ma xa, ma
Kabyle: acku
Kaqchikel: -uma, oma
Kashubian: bò
Kazakh: өйткені (öitkenı), себебі (sebebı)
Khiamniungan Naga: jàngkō
Khmer: ព្រោះ (km) (prŭəh), ពីព្រោះ (km) (pii prŭəh)
Konkani: ಇತ್ಯಮ್ಹಳೆರಿ (ityamhaḷeri)
Korean: 왜냐하면 (ko) (waenyahamyeon) (at the beginning of a clause), (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), ເພາະວ່າ (phǫ wā)
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)
Lü: please add this translation if you can
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
Mari:
Eastern Mari: потомушто (potomušto)
Mbyá Guaraní: mba'e ta
Mon: please add this translation if you can
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: 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
Nǀuu: please add this translation if you can
Occitan: perque
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: пон҄еже (ponʹježe)
Old English: for þon þe
Old Polish: tegodla
Pannonian Rusyn: прето же (preto že), бо (bo)
Pashto: ځکه چې (źëka če)
Persian:
Iranian Persian: زیرا (fa) (zirâ), چونْکِه (čunke), چون (fa) (čun), بِدَلیل (bedalil), بَرایِ این‌کِه (barâ-ye in-ke)
Pitjantjatjara: -nguru, -languru, panya
Pohnpeian: ahki
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, air sgàth, air sàilleabh, a chionn, air àrainn, ri linn, airson, thoradh, do bhrìgh
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, pues (es), ca (es) (disused)
Sranan Tongo: bikasi
Swahili: kwa sababu (sw)
Swedish: därför att (sv), eftersom (sv)
Tagalog: (literally) dahil
Tajik: чунки (tg) (čunk-i), чун (čun), зеро (zero)
Talysh:
Asalemi: چون (cun)
Tatar: чөнки (çönki)
Thai: เพราะ (th) (prɔ́), เพราะว่า (prɔ́-wâa)
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 (uk) (tomú), тому́ що (tomú ščo), та́к як (ták jak), оскі́льки (oskílʹky), а́дже (uk) (ádže), внаслі́док (vnaslídok), унаслі́док (unaslídok)
Urdu: کْیون٘کِہ (kyoṅki), چونکہ (cūṅki)
Uyghur: چۈنكى (chünki)
Uzbek: negaki (uz), chunki (uz)
Venetan: parché (vec)
Vietnamese: tại vì, vì (vi), bởi vì (vi)
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 :

### Adverb

because (not comparable)
* On account, for sake [with of].
    My life is ruined because of you!
* (obsolete) For the reason [with that].
** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:3:And God blessed the seuenth day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his worke, which God created and made.

#### Derived terms

* because of
* because one can
* becauseness
* because you say so
* just because
* no because

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Interjection

because
* Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer to a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".

#### Translations
### Preposition

because
* (colloquial, Internet slang) On account of, because of. [from 20th c. or before]
    He rejected me because revenge, I guess.
    It doesn't work because reasons.
** 2013 November 19, Megan Garber, “English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet”, in The Atlantic‎:You probably know it better, however, as explanation by way of Internet—explanation that maximizes efficiency and irony in equal measure. I'm late because YouTube. You're reading this because procrastination. As the language writer Stan Carey delightfully sums it up: “‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammar.”

#### Derived terms

* because reasons

### References

* Bingham, Caleb (1808) “Improprieties in Pronunciation, common among the people of New-England”, in The Child's Companion; Being a Conciſe Spelling-book […] ‎, 12th edition, Boston: Manning & Loring, →OCLC, page 74.
* Glossa, volume 17 (1997), page 175: cf. Emonds 1976:175 on the analysis of Modern English because as a preposition introducing a clause

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from English because.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi.koz/
* Audio:(file)

### Conjunction

because
* (colloquial, uncommon) Synonym of parce que (“because”)
** 2010, Norbert de Roux, Mémoires fantasmées d'un canton ordinaire‎, Mon Petit Editeur, →ISBN, page 64:Je ne dis pas ça pour toi, à cause de ta tronche, mais because je suis hostile à toute forme de discrimination.I don't tell you this because of your face, but because I am against all forms of discrimination.

### Preposition

because
* (colloquial, uncommon) Synonym of à cause de (“because of”)
    La fenêtre était ouverte because la chaleur aoûtienne, si moite. ― The window was open because of the muggy August heat.
** 1959, Léo Malet, chapter 1, in L’envahissant cadavre de la plaine Monceau:"Enfin, juste comme Mariette commence à redevenir un peu nerveuse, because ce poireautage mortel, l’inspecteur Fabre, qui guettait peut-être ce moment, s’amène et lui fait signe de le suivre."‘Finally, just as Mariette starts to rebecome a little nervous because of this deadly wait, interpsector Fabre, who was maybe watching at that moment, comes along and gives her hope for survival.’
** 2020 March 4, Serge Toubiana, chapter 29, in L’amie américaine‎, Stock, →ISBN, page 221:Après un séjour à New York, qui lui a fait le plus grand bien, Helen se rend compte que la vie parisienne lui convient tout de même mieux, du fait de ses problèmes de santé — poids, hypertension… « En somme, quelle que soit l’alternative que je choisis, je suis désormais condamnée à la nostalgie permanente, vivace et stimulée à New York, mais because hypertension, la détente à Paris est peut-être préférable¹⁴. »After a trip to New York, which did the greatest good for her, Helen realises that Parisian life suits her better anyway due to her health problems: weight, hypertension… ‘In sum, whatever the alternative that I choose, I am henceforth condemned to permanent nostalgia, vivacious and stimulated at New York, but because of hypertension, maybe relaxing in Paris is preferable.’