为了
in order to; for the purpose of
wèile
What does 为了 mean?
为了 (wèile) is the preposition for 'in order to / for the purpose of / for the sake of' — marking the GOAL or PURPOSE behind an action. The basic pattern is '为了 + goal, + main clause' (为了健康，我每天跑步 'In order to stay healthy, I run every day') or '主语 + 为了 + goal + verb phrase' (我为了健康每天跑步 'I run every day for my health'). 为了 always points forward to a future / intended outcome — the reason WHY the action is taken.
Don't confuse with 因为 ('because'), which points BACK to a cause: 因为 explains why something happened; 为了 explains what you're aiming at. English collapses both into 'for,' but Chinese separates them strictly. Compared to 为 (wèi) alone, 为了 is goal-focused while 为 is beneficiary-focused — 为你 'for you (your benefit)
Character breakdown
for; for the sake of
particle marking change or completion (here a fixed compound suffix)
Memory hook: 为 (for) + 了 (locks the phrase as a goal-pointer) → for the purpose of.
Example sentences
为了健康，我每天跑步。
Wèile jiànkāng, wǒ měi tiān pǎobù.
For my health, I run every day.
neutral
他为了家人努力工作。
Tā wèile jiārén nǔlì gōngzuò.
He works hard for his family.
neutral
为了学好中文，我搬到了北京。
Wèile xué hǎo Zhōngwén, wǒ bān dào le Běijīng.
In order to learn Chinese well, I moved to Beijing.
neutral
我做这些都是为了你。
Wǒ zuò zhèxiē dōu shì wèile nǐ.
I'm doing all this for you.
spoken
Common phrases with 为了
Synonyms
为 alone marks beneficiary (为你高兴 'happy for you'). 为了 marks goal (为了你 'in order to help you'). Mostly NOT interchangeable — 为了 needs a goal-shaped object.
为的是 is the 'the reason is in order to' construction — used at the END of a sentence to highlight the purpose (我每天早起，为的是有更多时间 'I get up early — the reason being to have more time'). 为了 is at the start.