Level 5 · Advanced
For one thing…: 一来…二来
…，一来 + Reason 1，二来 + Reason 2 · Traditional: …，一來 + Reason 1，二來 + Reason 2
一来…二来 (yīlái…èrlái) stacks up casual reasons: 我不想去，一来太远，二来太贵 "I don't want to go — for one thing it's far, for another it's expensive." It's the conversational way to say "reason one, reason two."
Compared with the formal 第一…第二 (for structured points in a speech), 一来…二来 keeps things chatty. A third reason can tag along as 三来, though two is where it usually stops.
Examples
我不想去，一来太远，二来太贵。
我不想去，一來太遠，二來太貴。
wǒ bù xiǎng qù yī lái tài yuǎn èr lái tài guì
I don't want to go — for one, it's too far; for another, too expensive.
他学中文，一来是为了工作，二来是因为喜欢中国文化。
他學中文，一來是為了工作，二來是因為喜歡中國文化。
tā xué zhōng wén yī lái shì wèi le gōng zuò èr lái shì yīn wèi xǐ huan zhōng guó wén huà
He studies Chinese partly for work and partly out of love for Chinese culture.
我们决定走路去，一来可以锻炼身体，二来还能省钱。
我們決定走路去，一來可以鍛鍊身體，二來還能省錢。
wǒ men jué dìng zǒu lù qù yī lái kě yǐ duàn liàn shēn tǐ èr lái hái néng shěng qián
We decided to walk — it's exercise, and it saves money too.
这个办法不行，一来时间不够，二来人也不够。
這個辦法不行，一來時間不夠，二來人也不夠。
zhè ge bàn fǎ bù xíng yī lái shí jiān bù gòu èr lái rén yě bù gòu
This plan won't work — not enough time, and not enough people either.
Common mistakes
✗ 我不想去，一来太远。
✓ 我不想去，一来太远，二来太贵。
一来 promises a list — follow it with 二来. One reason alone just uses 因为.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Talking Price (Part 4) inside the Literate Chinese app.
