To prompt / to compel (促使 / 迫使 — causatives)

Structure Cause + 促使/迫使 + person + verb

促使 (cùshǐ) and 迫使 (pòshǐ) are causative "pivot" verbs: a cause makes someone (or something) do something. 这件事促使他重新思考 = "this matter prompted him to rethink things"; 形势迫使他让步 = "the situation forced him to give in". The difference is one of force: 促使 = to induce, to spur, to nudge toward an action (favorable or neutral); 迫使 = to compel under pressure, against one's will (coercive, often negative). Unlike 使 (HSK 4) and 令 (HSK 5), which merely open a result or an emotion, 促使/迫使 are two-syllable written-register verbs and always take an actor who performs the following action.

Examples

这zhè件jiàn事shì促cù使shǐ他tā重chóng新xīn思sī考kǎo自zì己jǐ的de人rén生shēng。
This matter prompted him to rethink his own life.
严yán峻jùn的de形xíng势shì迫pò使shǐ他tā做zuò出chū让ràng步bù。
The grim situation forced him to make concessions.
市shì场chǎng竞jìng争zhēng促cù使shǐ企qǐ业yè不bù断duàn创chuàng新xīn。
Market competition spurs companies to innovate constantly.
经jīng济jì压yā力lì迫pò使shǐ许xǔ多duō年nián轻qīng人rén离lí开kāi家jiā乡xiāng。
Economic pressure forces many young people to leave their hometown.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

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