Chinese grammar: For with 为wei

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.

Structure 
为+[some part]+V

Examples 

Lǎo shī zǒnɡ shì wéi xué shenɡ cāo xīn.
老师 总是 为 学生 操心。
The teacher cares about the students.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *