Difference between revisions of "Expressing purpose with "weile""

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* <em>为了</em> 给 他 太太 庆祝生日,他 办 了 一 个 盛大的 派对 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> gěi tā tàitài qìngzhù shēngrì, tā bàn le yī gè shèngdà de pàiduì.</span><span class="expl">(the wife benefits)</span> <span class="trans">He threw a grand party to celebrate his wife's birthday.</span>
 
* <em>为了</em> 给 他 太太 庆祝生日,他 办 了 一 个 盛大的 派对 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> gěi tā tàitài qìngzhù shēngrì, tā bàn le yī gè shèngdà de pàiduì.</span><span class="expl">(the wife benefits)</span> <span class="trans">He threw a grand party to celebrate his wife's birthday.</span>
 
* <em>为了</em> 有 一个 好 的 未来, 我 必须 好好 学习 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> yǒu yī gè hǎo de wèilái, wǒ bìxū hǎo hào xuéxí.</span><span class="expl">(having a good future is the purpose)</span> <span class="trans">In order to have a good future, I have to study hard.</span>
 
* <em>为了</em> 有 一个 好 的 未来, 我 必须 好好 学习 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> yǒu yī gè hǎo de wèilái, wǒ bìxū hǎo hào xuéxí.</span><span class="expl">(having a good future is the purpose)</span> <span class="trans">In order to have a good future, I have to study hard.</span>
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* <em>为了</em> 让 自己 有 更好 的 语言 环境, 我 打算 去 中国 留学 一年。<span class="expl">(having a better language-learning environment is the purpose)</span> <span class="trans">In order to have a better language-learning environment, I plan to go to study in China for 1 year.</span>
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* <em>为了</em> 让 孩子 一 生下来 就 是 美国人,中国 很多  有钱人 都 在 美国 生孩子。  <span class="expl">(for their kids to become an American citizen as soon as they're born is the purpose)</span> <span class="trans">In order to make their kid an American citizen,a lot of  rich Chinese people stay in the states during their pregnancy.</span></div>
  
 
== 为了 as a verb ==
 
== 为了 as a verb ==

Revision as of 09:37, 22 May 2015

为了 (wèile) is most often used to indicate the purpose of an action, or the person that will benefit from some act of kindness. In the "purpose" sense, it corresponds pretty well to "in order to" or "for the purpose of" in English.

为了 as a preposition

When 为了 indicates the purpose of an action, it's usually acting as a prepositions. In this role, the whole "为了 phrase" should come before the verb.

Note also that 为了 is a single word; the 了 here is not serving its role as a particle in this case.

Structure

为了+ [some purpose], Subject + Predicate

Examples

  • 为了 钱 , 他 出卖 了 朋友 。 Wèile qián, tā chūmài le péngyǒu.(money is the purpose) He betrayed his friends for money.
  • 为了 给 他 太太 庆祝生日,他 办 了 一 个 盛大的 派对 。 Wèile gěi tā tàitài qìngzhù shēngrì, tā bàn le yī gè shèngdà de pàiduì.(the wife benefits) He threw a grand party to celebrate his wife's birthday.
  • 为了 有 一个 好 的 未来, 我 必须 好好 学习 。 Wèile yǒu yī gè hǎo de wèilái, wǒ bìxū hǎo hào xuéxí.(having a good future is the purpose) In order to have a good future, I have to study hard.
  • 为了 让 自己 有 更好 的 语言 环境, 我 打算 去 中国 留学 一年。(having a better language-learning environment is the purpose) In order to have a better language-learning environment, I plan to go to study in China for 1 year.
  • 为了 让 孩子 一 生下来 就 是 美国人,中国 很多 有钱人 都 在 美国 生孩子。 (for their kids to become an American citizen as soon as they're born is the purpose) In order to make their kid an American citizen,a lot of rich Chinese people stay in the states during their pregnancy.

为了 as a verb

Occasionally you will see 为了 acting as a verb by itself. In this case, it usually combines with 是, and the meaning is not hard to derive: "to be for."

Structure

Subject + (是 +) 为了 + Objective

Example

  • 我这么做 是 为了 你 。Wǒ zhème zuò shì wèile nǐ.Did is for you.

See also

Sources and further reading

Podcasts

Books

Websites