Meaning
act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
Chinese: 表示作为、为了、因为等关系。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “wei” becomes a different word in each tone. 为 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 因为yīn wèibecause; owing to; on account of
- 认为rèn wéito believe; to think; to consider; to feel
- 成为chéng wéito become; to turn into
- 为什么wèi shén mewhy?; for what reason?
- 以为yǐ wéito think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief)
Example Sentence
他为家人做了一顿晚饭。Tā wèi jiā rén zuò le yí dùn wǎn fàn.He made a dinner for his family.
他Tāhe为wèifor家人jiā rénfamily member做zuòto make了le(completed action)一yíone顿dùnto stop晚饭wǎn fànevening meal。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Simplified from 為. The old form showed a hand leading an elephant to work — ‘to do, to act; to be; for the sake of; because of’ (wèi).
A way to remember it
Putting a great beast to work — to do, to act.