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

Examples

为了钱，他出卖了朋友。 money is the purpose Wèile qián, tā chūmài le péngyou.
He betrayed his friends for money.
为了给他太太庆祝生日，他办了一个盛大的派对。 the wife benefitsWèile gěi tā tàitài qìngzhù shēngrì, tā bàn le yī gè shèngdà de pàiduì.
He threw a grand party to celebrate his wife's birthday.
为了有一个好的未来，我必须好好学习。 having a good future is the purpose Wèile yǒu yī gè hǎo de wèilái, wǒ bìxū hǎo hào xuéxí.
In order to have a good future, I have to study hard.
为了让自己有更好的语言环境，我打算去中国留学一年。 having a better language-learning environment is the purpose Wèile ràng zìjǐ yǒu gèng hǎo de yǔyán huánjìng, wǒ dǎsuàn qù zhōngguó liúxué yī nián.
In order to have a better language-learning environment, I plan to go to study in China for 1 year.
为了让孩子一生下来就是美国人，中国很多有钱人都在美国生孩子。 for their kids to become an American citizen as soon as they're born is the purpose Wèile ràng háizi yīshēng xiàlái jiùshì Měiguó rén, Zhōngguó hěn duō yǒuqiánrén dōu zài Měiguó shēng háizi.
In order to make their child an American citizen, a lot of rich Chinese people stay in the United States during their pregnancy.

为了 after 是

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

Example

我这么做是为了给你一个更好的未来。 Wǒ (zhīsuǒyǐ) zhème zuò shì wèile gěi nǐ yī gè gèng hǎo de weìlái.
The reason I did all this was to give you a better future.
我离开中国是为了去美国结婚。 Wǒ (zhīsuǒyǐ) líkāi zhōngguó shì wèile qù Měiguó jiéhūn.
The reason I left China was to go to the United States to get married.
他俩一直不要孩子是为了多点时间享受二人世界。 Tā liǎ (zhīsuǒyǐ) yīzhí bùyào háizi shì wèile duō diǎn shíjiān xiǎngshòu èrrénshìjiè.
The reason they don't want to have kids is so they can spend more time with each other.

为了 as a preposition

Contents

Structure

Examples

为了 after 是

Structure

Example

See Also

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