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 + Purpose ，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 孩子 的 未来 ，他 决定 搬到 上海 。Wèile háizi de wèilái, tā juédìng bāndào Shanghai.He decided to move to Shanghai for his children's future.
• 为了 省 钱 ，爷爷 戒烟 了 。Wèile shěng qián, yéye jièyān le.In order to save money, grandpa quit smoking.
• 为了 这个 面试 ，他 专门 去 买 了 一 套 西装 。Wèile zhège miànshì, tā zhuānmén qù mǎi le yī tào xīzhuāng.He went to buy a suit specially for this job interview.
• 为了 帮 朋友 ，我 差点 丢 了 工作 。Wèile bāng péngyou, wǒ chàdiǎn diū le gōngzuò.I almost lost my job in order to help a friend.

Advanced Pattern

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 / 因为 + Purpose / Reason

Example

• 他 做 兼职 是 为了 多 赚 点 钱 。Tā zuò jiānzhí shì wèile duō zhuàn diǎn 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 zhī suǒyǐ lízhí shì wèile chuàngyè.The reason why she left the job is to start 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?
• 我 这么做 是 为了 帮 你 。Wǒ zhème zuò shì wèile bāng nǐ.Why I did all this is to help you.
• 我们 之所以 反对 是 因为 风险 太 大 。Wǒmen zhī suǒyǐ fǎnduì shì yīnwèi fēngxiǎn tài dà.The reason why we disagree is that the risk is too high.

See also

• Expressing "for" with "wei"
• Expressing purpose with "hao"
• Using "lai" to connect two verb phrases

Sources and further reading

Podcasts

• Chinesepod Qingwen 为 and 为了

Books

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

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Uses of 为 and 为了