Breakdown of wǒ zhīsuǒyǐ xǐhuan zhè gè xuéxiào, shì yīnwèi xiàoyuán hěn ānjìng.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Questions & Answers about wǒ zhīsuǒyǐ xǐhuan zhè gè xuéxiào, shì yīnwèi xiàoyuán hěn ānjìng.
之所以 is used to introduce the result or situation whose reason you are about to explain. A very close English feel is:
- “the reason (why)…”
- “what makes me … is that …”
In this sentence:
- 我之所以喜欢这个学校
→ “The reason I like this school / The fact that I like this school”
Then the second half gives the reason:
- 是因为校园很安静
→ “…is because the campus is very quiet.”
If you only use 因为, you usually have a simpler cause–effect statement:
- 我喜欢这个学校，因为校园很安静。
“I like this school because the campus is very quiet.”
So:
- 因为 = “because”
- 之所以 … 是因为 … = “the reason why … is because …”, a more explicit, slightly more formal way of explaining a reason.
In English, many style guides call “the reason is because …” redundant, but in modern Chinese 之所以 … 是因为 … is a completely standard and natural structure, not considered wrong or clumsy.
Pattern:
- A 之所以 B， 是因为 C。
→ “The reason A B is that C.”
Here:
- A: 我 (“I”)
- B: 喜欢这个学校 (“like this school”)
- C: 校园很安静 (“the campus is very quiet”)
So the full pattern:
- 我之所以喜欢这个学校，是因为校园很安静。
This pattern is very common in speech and writing. It adds a sense of explicit explanation and emphasis: you are highlighting that you are now giving the specific reason for something, not just casually tacking on a cause.
Yes, you can absolutely say:
- 我喜欢这个学校，因为校园很安静。
This is perfectly natural and probably more common in everyday speech.
Differences:
我喜欢这个学校，因为校园很安静。
– Simple cause–effect.
– Neutral, conversational tone.我之所以喜欢这个学校，是因为校园很安静。
– Sounds a bit more deliberate, as if you’re answering a question like
“你为什么喜欢这个学校？” (“Why do you like this school?”)
– Slightly more formal or explanatory; you’re foregrounding “the reason”.
So the sentence with 之所以…是因为… is used when you want to highlight or clarify the reason, often in explanations, speeches, or more careful conversation.
Here 是 functions like a linking verb / focus marker between the thing you’re explaining and its reason.
Structure:
- [我之所以喜欢这个学校]， 是 [因为校园很安静]。
So you can think of it as:
- “The reason I like this school is that the campus is very quiet.”
In this pattern, 是:
- Links the situation (liking the school) with
- Its explanation (the quiet campus)
In modern Chinese, 是 is often more than just “to be”; it also marks focus or emphasis:
you are explicitly saying “it is because… (and not some other reason)”.
In Chinese, adjectives often behave like stative verbs, so a bare “Noun + Adjective” sentence can easily sound contrasty or evaluative, not just descriptive.
校园很安静。
– Neutral description: “The campus is (very) quiet.”
– 很 here often doesn’t strongly mean “very”; it mainly works as a linking word to make the adjective sound natural.校园安静。
– Grammatically possible, but can sound:- like a contrast: “(Unlike others,) this campus is quiet.”
- or like part of a formal written style / title / slogan.
In ordinary speech, especially when a predicate is just Noun + Adjective, speakers almost always insert 很, 挺, 非常, etc.
So in this sentence, 校园很安静 is the natural everyday form.
Not in this sentence.
校园很安静。
– Complete sentence: “The campus is very quiet.”校园安静的
– This is incomplete by itself. 的 usually turns what comes before it into a modifier for a following noun:- 安静的校园 – “a quiet campus”
- 很安静的校园 – “a very quiet campus”
So:
- 校园很安静 = “The campus is very quiet.” (predicate)
- 很安静的校园 = “a very quiet campus” (attributive phrase before a noun)
In your sentence, we need a predicate (“is quiet”), so 校园很安静 is correct.
In 这个学校, 个 is the measure word / classifier:
- 这 + 个 + 学校 = “this school”
About the options:
这个学校
- Very common, informal, fully natural.
这所学校
- 所 (suǒ) is a more specific measure word for buildings / institutions like schools, hospitals, etc.
- Sounds a bit more formal or precise:
我之所以喜欢这所学校，是因为校园很安静。 – also totally correct.
这学校
- Can appear in casual spoken or dialect-influenced speech, but in standard Mandarin, we normally include the measure word:
- 这个学校 / 这所学校 are preferred.
- Can appear in casual spoken or dialect-influenced speech, but in standard Mandarin, we normally include the measure word:
Also, note that you do not insert 的 here:
- ❌ 这的学校 – incorrect
- ✅ 这个学校 / 这所学校 – correct
学校 and 校园 are related but not identical:
- 学校 = “school” as an institution (the organization, the place as a whole).
- 校园 = “campus” (the physical grounds: buildings, paths, environment).
So:
- 我喜欢这个学校 – “I like this school (as an institution, overall).”
- 校园很安静 – “The campus is very quiet (the environment, atmosphere).”
You could say:
- 我喜欢这个学校，是因为学校很安静。
This would be understood, but it’s slightly less precise because 学校 is repeated and can sound a bit vague. 校园 pinpoints that it’s the campus environment (not, say, the teachers or courses) that you like.
The 之 in 之所以 does come from classical Chinese, but 之所以 as a fixed phrase is very common in modern Mandarin, including in speech.
- On its own, 之 is indeed a very classical-sounding word.
- But in set expressions like 之所以, 之前, 之后 (in some styles), it has been fully absorbed into modern usage.
In terms of feel:
- 之所以 is a bit more formal/explanatory than just using 因为, but it does not sound old-fashioned or archaic.
- Native speakers use it in:
- Explanations
- Presentations
- Essays
- Thoughtful conversation
So you can safely use 之所以…是因为… in modern Mandarin without sounding like you’re reciting classical prose.
Can I drop 是 or 因为 in this structure? For example:
我之所以喜欢这个学校，是校园很安静。 or 我之所以喜欢这个学校，因为校园很安静。
Let’s look at the possibilities:
我之所以喜欢这个学校，是因为校园很安静。
– Standard, most natural version of this pattern.我之所以喜欢这个学校，是校园很安静。
– Grammatically possible in spoken Chinese, but:- It sounds a bit informal / elliptical, like you dropped 因为 in fast speech.
- Written Chinese usually prefers to keep 因为 here.
我之所以喜欢这个学校，因为校园很安静。
– Also heard in speech.
– Without 是, it can sound slightly less tight structurally, but it’s not wrong. – Still: the most “textbook” and clear pattern is with both 是 and 因为.
So:
For clear, standard usage:
→ 我之所以喜欢这个学校，是因为校园很安静。In casual speech, you might hear the 是 or 因为 dropped, but as a learner, it’s safer and better to use the full pattern.
The syllables are:
- 喜 (xǐ) – 3rd tone
- 欢 (huan) – neutral tone here
In 喜欢, 欢 is usually pronounced with a neutral tone, so the whole word is xǐhuan, not xǐhuān.
A few points:
- Neutral tone syllables are unstressed and lighter.
- Many very common verbs and verb–object words have a neutral-toned second syllable, e.g.:
- 知道 zhīdao
- 觉得 juéde
- 喜欢 xǐhuan
If you pronounce huan with a full 1st tone (xǐhuān), people will still understand you, but it will sound non-native or overly careful. Using the neutral tone xǐhuan is the natural spoken form.