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.

Standard 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 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 这个 面试 ，他 买 了 一 套 很贵 的 西服 。Wèile zhège miànshì, tā mǎi le yī tào hěn guì de xīfú.He bought a very expensive suit for this job interview.
• 为了 找 灵感 ，那个 作家 搬到 了 农村 。Wèile zhǎo línggǎn, nàge zuòjiā bān dào le nóngcūn.In order to find inspiration, that writer moved to the countryside.
• 为了 奖励 大家 ，公司 明年 带 你们 去 日本 旅行 。Wèile jiǎnglì dàjiā, gōngsī míngnián dài nǐmen qù Rìběn lǚxíng.In order to reward everyone, the company will take you on a trip to Japan next year.

Expressing "The reason why"

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 ⋯⋯

You will often see 因为 following 是, instead of 为了. It literally means "is because."

Example

• 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.
• 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.
• 你 老公 借钱 是 为了 创业 ？Nǐ lǎogōng jièqián shì wèile chuàngyè?The reason why your husband borrows money is to start his own business?
• 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
• Stating the effect before the cause

Sources and further reading

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
• 现代汉语虚词例释 (pp. 572) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
• 现代汉语虚词例释 (pp. 1) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 347-8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Uses of 为 and 为了

Podcasts

• Chinesepod Qingwen 为 and 为了