In Chinese communication, clarifying cause and effect, especially when things go wrong, is very important. 造成 (zàochéng) is a common and somewhat formal way to do this. It establishes a clear link between an action and its unfortunate consequence. A key cultural distinction is its strong negative connotation. In English, the verb “to cause” is neutral. You can say, “His dedication caused his success” or “The storm caused a power outage.” In Chinese, you would never use 造成 for a positive outcome like success. Using it for a good result sounds very strange, as if the success was an unfortunate accident. This reflects a certain precision in the language for attributing results. While English might use one word (“cause”) for all outcomes, Chinese has a wider palette of verbs depending on the nature of the result. 造成 is the specialized tool for negative consequences, which makes it very clear and unambiguous when discussing problems, mistakes, or disasters.
造成 (zàochéng) is frequently used in both written and spoken Chinese, though it carries a slightly formal tone.
The connotation is almost exclusively negative. The result is always something unwanted, like damage (损害), loss (损失), inconvenience (不便), pollution (污染), or pressure (压力).