导致

The Chinese word 导致 (dǎozhì) is a compound word consisting of two characters: 导 (dǎo) and 致 (zhì). The character 导 originally meant "to lead" or "to guide," and it is often used in the sense of "to cause" or "to bring about." The character 致 originally meant "to arrive at" or "to reach," and it is often used in the sense of "to cause" or "to result in." Thus, the compound word 导致 literally means "to lead to" or "to cause to happen."The word 导致 is commonly used in written Chinese to express the idea of causation or consequence. For example, the sentence "吸烟导致肺癌" (xīyān dǎozhì fèi'ài) means "Smoking causes lung cancer." In this sentence, the word 导致 is used to express the causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer.The word 导致 can also be used in spoken Chinese, but it is more common in formal settings. In informal settings, the word 造成 (zàochéng) is often used instead of 导致. The word 造成 also means "to cause" or "to bring about," but it is more commonly used in spoken Chinese.