Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 10/22

為(ため)に

For, For the sake of, In order to

Structure

Verb［る］+ ため(に)
Noun + の + ため(に)

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

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 follow by の.
  • 新(あたら)しい家(いえ)を建(た)てるために、土地(とち)を買(か)った。
    In order to build a house, I bought land.
  • 勉強(べんきょう)をするために、親(おや)に机(つくえ)を買(か)ってもらった。
    In order to study, I got my parents to buy me a desk.
  • 私(わたし)のためにやって。
    Please do this for me.
  • 君(きみ)のために買(か)ってあげたのに、誰(だれ)かにあげちゃったの？
    I bought this for you, but you gave it to someone?
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).
  • 2年(ねん)前(まえ)、車(くるま)を買(か)うために、親(おや)からお金(かね)を借(か)りました。
    In order to buy a car two years ago, I borrowed money from my parents.
  • 骨折(こっせつ)したため、明日(あした)からしばらく仕事(しごと)を休(やす)みます。
    Since I broke a bone, I am going to take some time off of work starting tomorrow.
When ため highlights past events, it is often translated simply as 'due to', or 'because of'.

Examples

  • 日本語(にほんご)が上手(じょうず)になるために、文法(ぶんぽう)を勉強(べんきょう)すべきです。

    You should study grammar in order to become good at Japanese.

  • 君(きみ)のために何(なん)でもするよ。なぜなら、愛(あい)しているから。

    I would do anything for you. Because I love you.

  • 家(いえ)を買(か)うためにローンを組(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.

  • 明日(あした)遊(あそ)びに行(い)くために、今日(きょう)仕事(しごと)を終(お)わらせないといけない。

    I have to finish my work today so that I can go out tomorrow.

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ため(に) – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

  • mrnoone

    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

    Yryrdz

    This helps a ton! Thank you very much.

  • Chrispy

    Chrispy

    It appears that nothing has changed since the initial request? I think the grammar point should be updated.

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