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 preposition. 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 。 (money is the purpose) He betrayed his friends for money.
• 为了 妻子，他 买 了 一 座 大 房子 。 (the wife benefits) He bought a large house for his wife.
• 为了 有 一个 好 的 未来， 我 必须 好好 学习 。 (having a good future is the purpose) In order to have a good future, I have to study hard.

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

• 这 是 为了 你 。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

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Uses of 为 and 为了