Expressing purpose with "weile"

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

• "For" with "wei"

Sources and further reading

Podcasts

• Chinesepod Qingwen 为 and 为了

Books

• Home With Kids1 (家有儿女1) (p.32) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (p. 40) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (p. 12) →buy

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Uses of 为 and 为了