Difference between revisions of "Expressing "for" with "wei""

Revision as of 08:54, 26 November 2013

Level

B1 / HSK5
Level

B1
Level

HSK5
Similar to
- Expressing "for" with "gei" (B1)
- Expressing purpose with "weile" (B1)
- Comparing "gei" and "wei" (B2)
- Explaining purpose with "wei... er..." (C1)
Similar to
- Expressing "for" with "gei" (HSK2)
- Expressing purpose with "weile" (HSK3)
- Explaining purpose with "wei... er..." (HSK4)
- Comparing "gei" and "wei" (HSK5)
Used for

Expressing purpose
Keywords

为, 给

When you work for a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase. The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.

Don't confuse this preposition with 为了, which is a bit different.

Structure

为 + [some part] + V

Examples

为人民服务。Serve the people
我为公司做了一个市场调查。I did a market research for our company.
她为美国政府工作。She works for the United States government.
老师总是为学生操心。The teacher cares about the students.
公司为她提供了很多资源。The company provided her with many resources.

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Uses of 为 and 为了

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-{{Grammar Box}} \r\nWhen you work ''for'' a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase.  The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.\r\nDon't confuse this preposition with [[Expressing purpose with "weile"|为了]], which is a bit different.\r\n== Structure ==\r\n<div class="jiegou">\r\n为 + [some part] + V\r\n</div>\r\n== Examples ==\r\n<div class="liju">\r\n* <em>为</em> 人民 服务。<span class="trans">Serve the people</span>
+{{Grammar Box}}
+When you work ''for'' a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase.  The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.
+Don't confuse this preposition with [[Expressing purpose with "weile"|为了]], which is a bit different.
+== Structure ==
+<div class="jiegou">
+为 + [some part] + V
+</div>
+== Examples ==
+<div class="liju">
+* <em>为</em> 人民 服务。<span class="trans">Serve the people</span>
 * 我 <em>为</em>公司 做了一个市场调查。<span class="trans">I did a market research for our company.</span>
 * 她 <em>为</em> 美国 政府 工作。<span class="trans">She works for the United States government.</span>
 * 老师 总是 <em>为</em> 学生 操心。<span class="trans">The teacher cares about the students.</span>
-* 公司 <em>为</em> 她 提供 了 很 多 资源。<span class="trans">The company provided her with many resources.</span>\r\n</div>\r\n== See also ==\r\n* [[Expressing purpose with "weile"]]\r\n== Sources and further reading ==\r\n=== Books ===\r\n
+* 公司 <em>为</em> 她 提供 了 很 多 资源。<span class="trans">The company provided her with many resources.</span>
+</div>
+== See also ==
+* [[Expressing purpose with "weile"]]
+== Sources and further reading ==
+=== Books ===
 * [[Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级)]] (pp. 238) [http://www.amazon.cn/gp/product/B004WA6JSQ/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B004WA6JSQ →buy]
 * [[Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)]] (pp.76) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001N6R7DI&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001N6R7DI →buy]
-* [[Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇)]] (pp. 203) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301075308/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7301075308 →buy]\r\n===Websites===\r\n*Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0236.html Uses of 为 and 为了]\r\n[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
+* [[Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇)]] (pp. 203) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301075308/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7301075308 →buy]
+===Websites===
+*Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0236.html Uses of 为 and 为了]
+[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
 [[Category:Prepositions]]
 {{Basic Grammar|为|B1|为 + Noun⋯⋯|<em>为</em> 人民 服务 ！|grammar point|ASG68RBX}}