How can we distinguish the difference between these?

Question

Hi, I'm still confused how to distinguish the usage of words:* hence* therefore* thusCan we substitute each other? I just want to know the usage of those three.Thank you so much!

Hole One a New See · Accepted Answer

'therefore': "for that reason", "used to introduce the logical result of sth that has just been mentioned"

'hence' is very similar to 'therefore' and has a meaning like 'therefore' ("that is the reason or explanation for;therefore")

but also has a second meaning: "from this time". In the first case I suggest you to use 'therefore'. Maybe this is just my anticipation but I have never encountered with the first meaning of 'hence' (So it is suspicious. Therefore I think 'therefore' is much more common in that case.)

'thus' is just the synonym of 'therefore' (and I think you can't interchange them if you aspire to exactness) but its main meaning: "in this way".

So I think you should use the best meanings every time and in other cases (e.g. when you read a book or talk with somebody) you will recognize their other meaning. The context will show you the better meaning. It is nearly 100%.

By the way I'm neither a teacher nor a native speaker. I'm just a beginner.

Dilladp · Answer

Thank you! Your answer is really answering my curiosity <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

How can we distinguish the difference between these?

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