Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 为了
为了 acts as a preposition to express the purpose of an action.
It can be translated in English to “in order to” or “for the sake of (something)”.
HOW TO USE 为了 | STRUCTURE & USAGES
In Chinese, we often use 为了 to express the purpose or indicate someone benefits from something.
So the whole “为了 phrase” should come before the verb.
PATTERN
为了 …… ，Subject ……
Note also that 为了 is a single word; the 了 here is not serving its role as a particle in this case.
为了今天的演讲，她练习了很多遍。
She has practiced many times for today’s speech.View More Phrases
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 为了放松心情，我去了中国旅游。 | wèi le fàng sōng xīn qíng, wǒ qù le zhōng guó lǚ yóu | To relax my mind, I went to China for a tour. |
| 为了取得好成绩，她十分努力学习。 | wèi le qǔ dé hǎo chéng jì, tā shí fēn nǔ lì xué xí | To get good grades, she studies very hard. |
| 为了下周的晚宴，她买了一条漂亮的项链。 | wèi le xià zhōu de wǎn yàn, tā mǎi le yī tiáo piào liàng de xiàng liàn | She bought a beautiful necklace for next week’s dinner party. |
| 为了保持健康，她每天都去健身房运动。 | wèi le bǎo chí jiàn kāng, tā měi tiān dōu qù jiàn shēn fáng yùn dòng | In order to stay healthy, she goes to the gym every day to exercise. |
| 为了寻找灵感，作家搬家去了郊区。 | wèi le xún zhǎo líng gǎn, zuò jiā bān jiā qù le jiāo qū | In search of inspiration, the writer moved to the suburbs. |
HOW TO USE 为了 WITH 是
Sometimes you will see 为了 following 是. In this case, 为了 is used to indicate the purpose or the reason, the reason why something.
It’s similar “for” in English.
PATTERN
…… 是 + 为了 / 因为 ……
Note that 为了 and 因为 both have the character 为 in them, and they have sort of similar meanings. You will also see 因为 following 是 instead of 为了.
It means “is because (of).”
我不同意因为觉得风险太大。
I disagree because I feel the risk is too great.View More Phrases
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 我这么做是为了帮你。 | wǒ zhè me zuò shì wèi le bāng nǐ | I do this to help you. |
| 我带雨伞是因为天气预报说会下雨。 | wǒ dài yǔ sǎn shì yīn wèi tiān qì yù bào shuō huì xià yǔ | I brought an umbrella because the weather forecast said it would rain. |
| 她不参加活动是因为她太忙了。 | tā bù cān jiā huó dòng shì yīn wèi tā tài máng le | She doesn’t attend events because she’s too busy. |
| 她每天运动是为了变苗条。 | tā měi tiān yùn dòng shì wèi le biàn miáo tiáo | She exercises every day to get slim. |
| 她辞职是为了找更好的工作。 | tā cí zhí shì wèi le zhǎo gèng hǎo de gōng zuò | She quit her job to find a better job. |
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FAQs
What is 为了?
为了 acts as a preposition to express the purpose of an action.
It can be translated in English to “in order to” or “for the sake of (something)”.
How to use 为了?
In Chinese, we often use 为了 to express the purpose or indicate someone benefits from something.
So the whole “为了 phrase” should come before the verb. The basic structure is:
为了 …… ，Subject ……
What are some examples with 为了?
为了今天的演讲，她练习了很多遍。| She has practiced many times for today’s speech.
为了取得好成绩，她十分努力学习。| To get good grades, she studies very hard.
为了下周的晚宴，她买了一条漂亮的项链。| She bought a beautiful necklace for next week’s dinner party.
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