因 — “cause” in Japanese

Grade 5いん, よ

Radical ⼞ · radical 31 The building block this kanji is filed under

“cause” in Japanese is 因, read in, yo (いん, よ). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 原因 (cause).

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What does 因 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	因
Meaning	cause
Readings	いん, よ
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	原因 (cause)

How to read 因

因 is read in (いん) or yo (よ) depending on the word.

Words with 因

勝因しょういん
原因げんいん

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Kanji read the same way as 因

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

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Updated: 2026-08-28