ChineseGrammarWiki/Programmes/B1.old/Grammar-wiki-B1-64.txt

{{Grammar Box}}

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 ===

<div class="jiegou">
为了+ [Purpose]，Subject + Predicate
</div>

=== Examples ===

<div class="liju">
* <em>为了</em> 钱 ， 他 出卖 了 朋友 。 <span class="expl">money is the purpose</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> qián, tā chūmài le péngyou.</span><span class="trans">He betrayed his friends for money.</span>
* <em>为了</em> 给 他 太太 庆祝生日，他 办 了 一 个 盛大的 派对 。 <span class="expl">the wife benefits</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> gěi tā tàitài qìngzhù shēngrì, tā bàn le yī gè shèngdà de pàiduì.</span><span class="trans">He threw a grand party to celebrate his wife's birthday.</span>
* <em>为了</em> 有 一个 好 的 未来， 我 必须 好好 学习 。 <span class="expl">having a good future is the purpose</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> yǒu yī gè hǎo de wèilái, wǒ bìxū hǎo hào xuéxí.</span><span class="trans">In order to have a good future, I have to study hard.</span>
* <em>为了</em> 让 自己 有 更好 的 语言 环境， 我 打算 去 中国 留学 一年。<span class="expl">having a better language-learning environment is the purpose</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> ràng zìjǐ yǒu gèng hǎo de yǔyán huánjìng, wǒ dǎsuàn qù zhōngguó liúxué yī nián.</span><span class="trans">In order to have a better language-learning environment, I plan to go to study in China for 1 year.</span>
* <em>为了</em> 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。<span class="expl">for their kids to become an American citizen as soon as they're born is the purpose</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Wèile</em> ràng háizi yīshēng xiàlái jiùshì Měiguó rén, Zhōngguó hěn duō yǒuqiánrén dōu zài Měiguó shēng háizi.</span><span class="trans">In order to make their child an American citizen, a lot of  rich Chinese people stay in the United States during their pregnancy.</span></div>

== 为了 after 是==

Sometimes you will see 为了 coming after 是. In this case, it often goes with [[Stating the effect before the cause|之所以]] (a more difficult pattern, not explored here), which means "the reason why" in a more formal way.

=== Structure ===

<div class="jiegou">
⋯⋯是 + 为了 + Purpose / Reason
</div>

=== Example ===

<div class="liju">

* 我 这么做 是 <em>为了</em> 给 你 一个 更好 的 未来。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ (zhīsuǒyǐ) zhème zuò shì <em>wèile</em> gěi nǐ yī gè gèng hǎo de weìlái.</span><span class="trans">The reason I did all this was to give you a better future.</span>
* 我 离开 中国 是 <em>为了</em> 去 美国 结婚 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ (zhīsuǒyǐ) líkāi zhōngguó shì <em>wèile</em> qù Měiguó jiéhūn.</span><span class="trans">The reason I left China was to go to the United States to get married.</span>
*他俩 一直 不要 孩子 是 <em>为了</em> 多 点 时间 享受 二人世界 。<span class="pinyin">Tā liǎ (zhīsuǒyǐ) yīzhí bùyào háizi shì <em>wèile</em> duō diǎn shíjiān xiǎngshòu èrrénshìjiè.</span><span class="trans">The reason they don't want to have kids is so they can spend more time with each other.</span>

</div>

== See Also ==

* [["For" with "wei"]]

== Sources and further reading ==

=== Podcasts ===

* [http://chinesepod.com/lessons/%E4%B8%BA-and-%E4%B8%BA%E4%BA%86	Chinesepod Qingwen 为 and 为了]

=== Books ===

* [[Home With Kids1 (家有儿女1)]] (p.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]
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4)]] (p. 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]
*[[卓越汉语－公司实战篇]] (p. 12) [http://www.amazon.cn/%E5%8D%93%E8%B6%8A%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD-%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E5%AE%9E%E6%88%98%E7%AF%87-%E8%83%A1%E7%81%B5%E5%9D%87/dp/B003QZWQ6M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347863170&sr=8-1 →buy]

===Websites===

* Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0236.html Uses of 为 and 为了]

[[Category:B1 grammar points]]

{{Basic Grammar|为了|B1|为了 + Purpose + Verb|<em>为了</em> 你，我 愿意 做 。|grammar point|ASGQGJXT}}
{{Rel char|为}}
{{Rel char|了}}
{{Used for|Expressing Purpose}}
{{Similar|"For" with "wei"}} 
{{Similar|Expressing purpose with "haorang"}}
{{Similar|"lai" used to connect two verb phrases}}
{{POS|Prepositions}}
{{Translation|for}}
{{Translation|to}}