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.

Basic Pattern

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

Structure

为了 ⋯⋯ ，Subj. ⋯⋯

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

Examples

• 为了 钱 ，他 什么 都 愿意 做 。Wèile qián, tā shénme dōu yuànyì zuò.He's willing to do anything for money.
• 为了 庆祝 太太 的 生日，他 办 了 一 个 很 大 的 派对 。Wèile qìngzhù tàitai de shēngrì, tā bàn le yī gè hěn dà de pàiduì.He threw a huge party to celebrate his wife's birthday.
• 为了 孩子 的 未来 ，他 决定 搬到 上海 。Wèile háizi de wèilái, tā juédìng bāndào Shanghai.In order to give his child a good future, he decided to move to Shanghai.
• 为了 有 个 更好 的 语言 环境 ，我 打算 去 中国 留学 一 年 。Wèile yǒu gè gèng hǎo de yǔyán huánjìng, wǒ dǎsuàn qù zhōngguó liúxué yī nián.In order to have a better language-learning environment, I plan to go to study in China for 1 year.

Advanced Usage

Sometimes you will see 为了 coming after 是. In this case, it often goes with 之所以 (a more difficult pattern, not explored here), which means "the reason why" in a more formal way.

Structure

(之所以) ⋯⋯ 是 + 为了 + Purpose / Reason

Example

• 他 做 兼职 是 为了 多 赚 一些 钱 。Tā zuò jiānzhí shì wèile duō zhuàn yīxiē qián.The reason why he does a part time jog is to make a little more money.
• 她 之所以 离职 是 为了 创业 。Tā zhīsuǒyǐ lízhí shì wèile chuàngyè.The reason why she left the job is to start up her own business.
• 你 学 中文 是 为了 在 中国 找 工作 吗 ？Nǐ xué Zhōngwén shì wèile zài Zhōngguó zhǎo gōngzuò ma?Are you studying Chinese in order to find a job in China?
• 他 当 明星 只 是 为了 出名 。Tā dāng míngxīng zhǐ shì wèile chūmíng.The only reason why he became a star is to be famous.
• 我 之所以 这么做 是 为了 给 你 一个 更好 的 未来。Wǒ zhīsuǒyǐ zhème zuò shì wèile gěi nǐ yī gè gèng hǎo de weìlái.The reason why I did all this is to give you a better future.

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