受……(的)影响
Reach for 受...的影响 when you want to say something is affected/influenced by some force — 'under the influence of X' or 'affected by X.' It's the standard Chinese way to credit external causes for an outcome: economic shifts, weather, policies, public opinion, family upbringing. The whole phrase usually sits at the start of a sentence as a reason, or after a subject to explain why it changed. The 的 is optional when the influencer is short; it's typically dropped when the modifier is a single noun.
Structure
(Subject) + 受 + [INFLUENCE SOURCE] + (的) + 影响
shòu... (de) yǐngxiǎng
How to Think About It
受 here is 'to receive / undergo.' 受...影响 literally is 'to receive the influence of X.' That's why the source comes BEFORE 影响 (sandwiched between 受 and 影响, sometimes with 的). English puts the influencer after 'influence of'; Chinese puts it before. Drop 的 when the influencer is a short noun (受疫情影响), keep 的 when it's a longer descriptive phrase (受这次会议的影响). The pattern is heavy in news because it's the cleanest way to assign cause to invisible forces.
Examples
受疫情影响, 很多商店关门了。
Shòu yìqíng yǐngxiǎng, hěn duō shāngdiàn guānmén le.
Affected by the pandemic, many shops closed.
他受父亲的影响, 成了一名医生。
Tā shòu fùqīn de yǐngxiǎng, chéng le yī míng yīshēng.
Influenced by his father, he became a doctor.
今年的农作物受天气影响很大。
Jīnnián de nóngzuòwù shòu tiānqì yǐngxiǎng hěn dà.
This year's crops have been greatly affected by the weather.
Common Mistake
Learners follow English word order and produce 影响受 or 受影响 of X, putting the source in the wrong slot. The influencer always sits between 受 and 影响. The other mistake is swapping in 被, which is the passive marker — 被影响 is grammatically possible but sounds clunky compared to 受...影响.
我受影响疫情很大。
我受疫情影响很大。
Don't Confuse With
被 + Agent + Verb (passive)
被 marks a passive action with a specific agent doing the verb. 受...影响 is a fixed expression for being affected by a force. 被影响 is technically grammatical but rare; native speakers default to 受...影响.
对...有影响
Flips perspective. 对...有影响 = 'has an influence on X.' 这件事对孩子有影响 = this matter has an influence on the kid. 受...影响 = X is affected. Same idea, opposite direction.
因为...所以...
Generic cause-effect. 受...影响 specifically attributes the effect to influence — it's narrower and more analytical. News writers prefer 受...影响 when the cause is a force or trend rather than a single event.
Practice
___ 经济影响, 失业率上升了。
Show answer
受
他受老师 ___ 影响, 开始喜欢历史。
Show answer
的
Put in order: [受 / 影响 / 天气 / 航班 / 取消 / 很多]
Show answer
受天气影响, 很多航班取消。
Translate to Chinese: 'Affected by the new policy, prices went up.'
Show answer
受新政策影响, 价格上涨了。
Write a sentence using 受...影响 to explain a change.
Show answer
Example answer: 受网络的影响, 现在的年轻人阅读习惯改变了。 (Influenced by the internet, young people's reading habits have changed.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 受……(的)影响 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.