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 almost exactly corresponds to "in order to" or "for the purpose of" in English. == Basic Usage == When 为了 indicates the purpose of an action, it's usually acting as a [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Preposition preposition]. In this role, the ''whole'' "为了 phrase" should come '''before''' the verb. === Structure === Note also that 为了 is a single word; the 了 here is not serving its role as a particle in this case. === Examples === == Expressing "The reason why" == Sometimes you will see 为了 following 是. In this case, 为了 mean "for." 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 literally means "is because." === Structure === === Example === Note that [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Stating_the_effect_before_the_cause 之所以] is a more difficult pattern, which means "the reason why" in a more formal way. == See also == * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22for%22_with_%22wei%22 Expressing "for" with "wei"] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_purpose_with_%22hao%22 Expressing purpose with "hao"] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Using_%22lai%22_to_connect_two_verb_phrases Using "lai" to connect two verb phrases] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Stating_the_effect_before_the_cause Stating the effect before the cause] == Sources and further reading == === Books === * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Home_With_Kids1_(%E5%AE%B6%E6%9C%89%E5%84%BF%E5%A5%B31) Home With Kids1 (家有儿女1)] (pp. 32) [http://www.amazon.cn/%E5%AE%B6%E6%9C%89%E5%84%BF%E5%A5%B31-%E5%88%98%E7%AB%8B%E6%96%B0/dp/B0020MLDO8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347862139&sr=8-1 →buy] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_4_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC4) New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4)] (pp. 40) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561913192/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561913192 →buy] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E5%8D%93%E8%B6%8A%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%EF%BC%8D%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E5%AE%9E%E6%88%98%E7%AF%87 卓越汉语－公司实战篇] (pp. 12) [ →buy] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%99%9A%E8%AF%8D%E4%BE%8B%E9%87%8A 现代汉语虚词例释] (pp. 484, 572) [http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%85%AB%E7%99%BE%E8%AF%8D/dp/B004323J90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345693275&sr=8-1 →buy] * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_1 Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1] (pp. 347-8) [http://amzn.to/2fdV2l3 →buy] === Websites === * Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0236.html Uses of 为 and 为了] === Podcasts === * [http://chinesepod.com/lessons/%E4%B8%BA-and-%E4%B8%BA%E4%BA%86 Chinesepod Qingwen 为 and 为了]