Expressing "for" with "wei"

When you work for a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase. The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.

Don't confuse this preposition with 为了, which is a bit different.

Structure

为 + Party + Verb / Adj.

Examples

• 我们 都 为 你 高兴 。Wǒmen dōu wèi nǐ gāoxìng.We are all happy for you.
• 谁 为 我 考虑 过 ？Shéi wèi wǒ kǎolǜ guo?Is there anyone who's ever thought about me?
• 你们 可以 来 为 我们 加油 。Nǐmen kěyǐ lái wèi wǒmen jiāyóu.You guys can come to cheer us on.
• 她 是 为 美国 政府 工作 的 。Tā shì wèi Měiguó zhèngfǔ gōngzuò de.She works for the United States government.
• 这个 生日 蛋糕 是 为 你 准备 的 。Zhège shēngrì dàngāo shì wèi nǐ zhǔnbèi de.This birthday cake is prepared for you.
• 父母 都 要 为 家庭 付出 很 多 。Fùmǔ dōu yào wèi jiātíng fùchū hěn duō.Parents need to do a lot for their family.
• 你 不 为 自己 的 孩子 担心 吗 ？Nǐ bù wèi zìjǐ de háizi dānxīn ma?Aren't you worried about your child?
• 谢谢 你 为 我们 提供 这么 多 资源 。Xièxie nǐ wèi wǒmen tígōng zhème duō zīyuán.Thank you for providing us with so many resources.
• 他 为 公司 的 发展 贡献 了 很多 。Tā wèi gōngsī de fāzhǎn gòngxiàn le hěn duō.He contributed a lot to the development of the company.
• 很多 人 都 在 为 那些 孩子 祈祷 。Hěn duō rén dōu zài wèi nàxiē háizi qídǎo.Lots of people are praying for those children.

See also

• Expressing purpose with "weile"
• Expressing "for" with "gei"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 238) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 76) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇) (pp. 203) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Websites

• Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: Uses of 为 and 为了