导致...
Reach for this in news, reports, and analysis when one event triggers another — and the result is usually unwanted. 导致 is a transitive verb meaning 'to lead to' or 'to cause,' and it almost always points to a negative or serious consequence (injury, shortage, collapse, delay). The subject is the cause; whatever follows 导致 is the unwelcome outcome. Speech uses 让 or 使 more often; 导致 belongs in formal explanations of how things went wrong.
Structure
[CAUSE] 导致 [NEGATIVE RESULT].
dǎozhì
How to Think About It
导致 has a built-in 'warning light.' Native readers expect a problem to come right after it — accidents, losses, side effects. Swapping in a happy outcome (导致了成功) sounds odd because the verb itself carries the smell of damage. If your result is positive, swap to 带来 or 促成.
Examples
暴雨导致了多条道路被淹。
Bàoyǔ dǎozhì le duō tiáo dàolù bèi yān.
Heavy rain caused multiple roads to flood.
缺乏睡眠会导致注意力下降。
Quēfá shuìmián huì dǎozhì zhùyìlì xiàjiàng.
Lack of sleep can lead to a decline in attention.
系统出错导致航班延误。
Xìtǒng chūcuò dǎozhì hángbān yánwù.
A system error caused the flight to be delayed.
Common Mistake
Learners use 导致 for any cause-effect, including good outcomes. Pair it only with negative or neutral-bad results, otherwise it clashes with the word's tone.
他的努力导致了成功。
他的努力带来了成功。
Don't Confuse With
造成...
Near-synonym, also negative. 造成 leans toward tangible damage (造成损失/伤亡); 导致 leans toward a chain of events leading to that damage.
使 / 让...
使/让 are neutral causatives ('make someone do/feel'). 导致 requires a substantial event-to-event causation, not just a feeling.
因为...所以...
因为...所以... is a two-clause cause-effect frame in conversation. 导致 packs the same logic into a single verb, more suited to written reports.
Practice
Fill in the blank: 这次事故 ___ 三人受伤。
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导致
Fill in the consequence: 长时间加班 ___ 健康下降。
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导致
Arrange into a sentence: 价格 / 上涨 / 导致 / 通货膨胀 / 大幅
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通货膨胀导致价格大幅上涨。
Translate to Chinese: The policy change led to a sharp drop in sales.
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政策的改变导致销售额大幅下降。
Write a sentence describing how one event caused a negative result.
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司机疲劳驾驶导致了这场车祸。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
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Hear 导致... in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
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