N4 · Linking clauses
ために: in order to; because of
ために (purpose and cause)
After a dictionary form, ために is a purpose you work towards; after a past form or a noun, it can also be a cause.
ために after the dictionary form of a verb gives the purpose of an action: 日本で働くために、日本語を勉強しています, "I am learning Japanese in order to work in Japan". After a noun it takes の and means "for" or "for the sake of": 家族のために, 健康のために.
Purpose ために has two conditions. Both clauses have the same subject, and the verb before ために is something a person can decide to do — 買う, 行く, 勉強する. When the goal is a state you cannot simply decide on — being able to do something, understanding, seeing, not forgetting — the right word is ように (see the next topic).
After the た-form, or a noun in a news-like sentence, ため(に) gives a cause: 事故のために電車が遅れました, "the train was delayed because of an accident". This is formal and objective, the language of announcements and reports, and everyday speech says から or ので instead.
English uses "to" for purpose everywhere: "I went to the shop to buy bread". With verbs of going and coming, Japanese has a lighter pattern — the ます-stem plus に: パンを買いに行きました. ために there is not wrong but sounds weighty, as if the bread were a life goal.
The form
| purpose, after a verb: in order to work | 働くために |
| purpose, after a noun: for my family | 家族のために |
| cause, after a noun: because of the accident | 事故のために |
| cause, after a past verb: because it snowed | 雪が降ったために |
| written and formal, without に | 〜ため、 |
| errand with a verb of motion | 買いに行く |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
For purpose, ために follows the dictionary form of a verb the subject can choose to do.
車を買うために、お金を貯めています。I am saving money to buy a car.
Both clauses must have the same subject.
試験に合格するために、毎晩勉強しています。I study every evening in order to pass the exam.
A noun takes の before ために.
子供のために、庭のある家を買いました。We bought a house with a garden for the children.
After a past form or a noun in a formal report, ため(に) means "because of".
大雪のため、学校は休みになりました。School was closed because of heavy snow.
With いく, くる and かえる, a simple errand uses the ます-stem plus に.
友達を迎えに空港へ行きます。I am going to the airport to pick up a friend.
A closer look
Purpose or cause?
The same word does both jobs, and the form in front of it usually decides. A dictionary form looks forward, to something not yet done: purpose. A た-form looks back, to something that has happened: cause.
After a noun, the main clause decides. 試験のために勉強する is studying for an exam — purpose, because studying is deliberate. 試験のために授業が休みになった is a class cancelled because of an exam — cause, because nobody chose the cancellation in order to achieve the exam.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the main verb is 行く, 来る or 帰る and the purpose is an ordinary errand
the ます-stem plus に is the normal form: 買いに行く, 会いに来る.
週末、祖母に会いに行きます。I am going to see my grandmother at the weekend.
ために emphasises a goal that has to be worked towards. For a trip to the shop, that emphasis is out of proportion, and the light に fits.
How to spot it
- 〜るために
- 〜のために
- 〜ため、
- 〜たため
- 〜に行く
Example sentences
日本の大学に入るために、毎日勉強しています。I study every day so I can get into a Japanese university.
健康のために、毎朝走っています。I run every morning for my health.
家族のために、一生懸命働いています。I work hard for my family.
事故のために、道が混んでいます。The roads are busy because of an accident.
写真を撮るために、朝早く山に登りました。I climbed the mountain early in the morning to take photographs.
昼ご飯を食べに家へ帰ります。I am going home to have lunch.
7 more example sentences
留学するために、英語を勉強しています。I am learning English so that I can study abroad.
旅行に行くために、アルバイトをしています。I have a part-time job so I can go travelling.
病気のため、今日は会社を休みます。I am off work today because of illness.
これは子供のための本です。This is a book for children.
台風が来たために、飛行機が飛びませんでした。Because a typhoon came, the planes did not fly.
本を借りに図書館へ行きました。I went to the library to borrow a book.
何のために日本語を勉強しているんですか。What are you learning Japanese for?
Worth knowing (1)
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ための before a noun
ために drops its に and takes の when it describes a noun: 子供のための本, "a book for children"; 日本語を勉強するための本, "a book for learning Japanese". Titles, signs and packaging use this constantly.
初めて日本に来る人のためのガイドです。This is a guide for people coming to Japan for the first time.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
"So that I could see the board" is a purpose in English, but 見える is not something anyone decides to do — it happens or it does not — and its subject is the board, not the speaker. Either reason rules out ために. A hoped-for state like this takes ように.
ために is for goals you can act on yourself; anything you can only hope for takes ように.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.