為(ため)にFor, For the sake of, In order to

Structure

Verb［る］+ ため(に)
Noun + の + ため(に)

Details

About ため(に)

ため (or 為(ため) in its kanji form) is a noun in Japanese that can be translated quite closely to 'sake' in English. However, it is classified as a non-independent word in Japanese, and must always be connected to another word which illustrates the 'sake' that ため is highlighting. The case marking particle に will often be added after ため, to show that (A) is a goal that something will be done to reach.

Due to this, ために can be translated as 'for the sake of (A)', or 'in order to (A)'.

To use ために, attach it to the end of verb in its non-past form, or a noun followed by の.

Fun Fact

Despite mainly being used to highlight goals, or things dictating an action, ため is also sometimes used to highlight events that have already taken place, and their results. Due to this, a more accurate translation of ため (in all of its uses) is 'in light of (A)'. This simply highlights that (A) is the primary or major event/thing that resulted in (B), or will result in (B).

When ため highlights past events, it is often translated simply as 'due to', or 'because of'.

Examples

--:--

家(いえ)を買(か)う為(ため)にローンを組(く)んだ。

I took a loan in order to buy a house.

僕(ぼく)はただいい点(てん)を取(と)る為(ため)に勉強(べんきょう)していません。

I am not studying just for the sake of getting a good score.

何(なん)の為(ため)に生(い)きているのか、それが知(し)りたい。

I want to know what I am living for.

お金(かね)の為(ため)だけに仕事(しごと)をするのは、つらいです。

It's very hard to only work for money.

老後(ろうご)の為(ため)にちゃんと貯金(ちょきん)しておかなければならない。

You have to save enough money for your retirement.

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Online
- Expressing Benefit & Purpose
  LearnJapaneseAdventure
- Go to do *purpose* / in order to
  Japanese Ammo
- ために: Aims, Benefits, and Causation
  Wasabi

Offline
- [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
  Page 94
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 447
- Genki II 2nd Edition
  Page 100 & 101
- Tobira
  Page 44
- みんなの日本語 II
  Page 108 [CH 42]
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ため(に) – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

mrnoone

English translation:
for, for the sake of, in order to

Structure
Verb[る] + ため(に)
Noun + の・ ため(に)

View on Bunpro
Flickisan
Could anybody please explain how I know if I have to use ため or ために in a sentence?
seanblue
Can you use ように here?
mrnoone
You cannot, since it can be used as “in order to” with verbs only. The verb expresses something that is desired but beyond speaker’s/writer’s control - “so that”. So it is used mostly with negative verbs and verbs in potential form.

Like:

失火の場合に家の中で火が燃え広がらないように、消火器を買いました。
I bought a fire extinguisher so that the fire won’t spread in house in case of fire.
shary
This grammar point seems to imply that ため is only followed by に or no particle. All the sentence examples use に. But I believe that it can also be used with の and have the same meaning “for”.

Examples:
- 地方の道路整備のための財源確保が必要です。 - Sentences - Japanese Dictionary Tangorin
- 軟木の絶縁された部屋およびよいヒーターはサウナのための絶対必要である。 - Sentences - Japanese Dictionary Tangorin
I don’t know if this grammar point should be updated or if this is a different grammar point, but I don’t think there is anything about ための on bunpro yet.
mrnoone
@shary
You are spot on! To be honest I was sure we had ため + の + Noun covered!
I have added to the to-do list.

I think updating the grammar point will be most beneficial
Cheers!
EdBunpro

君のため何でもするよ。なぜなら、愛しているから。

Came across this sentence in review today, the usage of から here seems to be redundant given the sentence begins with なぜなら. Am I missing some context here as to why から should still be used?
nekoyama
なぜなら is normally used with から.
There’s a grammar point for this.
EdBunpro
i’m a big dumb idiot, i completely forgot that tyvm. you would think given that i have the point at 10/12 i would have had that memorized but alas…
Yryrdz
為にｖｓ為862×487 36 KB

I don’t understand why ...
mrnoone
@Yryrdz
Hey!

They are a bit different!
In case of the former, お金のためだけに仕事をするのは辛いです。you have a compound “only for (money)”. If we want to say only in Japanese, we use だけ.
お金____だけに仕事をするのは辛いです。Now, given this sentence, we know that we miss “for” (ため), to get “only for” we are asked for. For that we need some knowledge about the structure, that is - if we attach Noun to だけ- we don’t need any particle between them. Technically speaking, ため is a Noun, so we get ためだけに, and as we know, we need の to attach a Noun to ため, so we get お金のためだけに.
This is all.
We could change the order a bit, to get a natural alternative sentence:
お金だけのために仕事をするのは辛いです。(“only for” vs “for only”)

The “only for” the part, that is だけのために or のためだけに modifies together the rest of the sentence.
<...
Yryrdz
This helps a ton! Thank you very much.
Chrispy
It appears that nothing has changed since the initial request? I think the grammar point should be updated.
Isurandil492

日本語()能力試験()に受()かるために 頑張()って勉強()している。

I am studying hard in order to pass the JLPT.

Since I just fell for that: It’s 受かる, not 受ける, so “to pass” is correct.