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.
Contents
- Structure
- Examples
- See also
- Sources and further reading
- Books
Structure
Examples
- 他 为 我 做 了 很 多 事 。 Tā wèi wǒ zuò le hěn duō shì.
He's done a lot for me.
- 我们 都 为 你 高兴 。 Wǒmen dōu wèi nǐ gāoxìng.
We are all happy for you.
- 你们 可以 来 为 我们 加油 。 Nǐmen kěyǐ lái wèi wǒmen jiāyóu.
You can come to cheer us up.
- 她 为 美国 政府 工作。 Tā wèi Měiguó zhèngfǔ gōngzuò.
She works for the United States government.
- 为 人民 服务。 Wèi rénmín fúwù.
Serve the people.
- 公司 为 她 提供 了 很 多 资源。 Gōngsī wèi tā tígōng le hěn duō zīyuán.
The company provided her with many resources.
See Also
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)
- Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp.76)
- Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇) (pp. 203)
Websites