This grammar shows why you do something. It means 'in order to' or 'for the purpose of'.
Verb [dictionary form] + ためPrimary
Noun + の + ため
This grammar shows why you do something. It means 'in order to' or 'for the purpose of'.
新しい家を買うため、夫婦で一生懸命働いている。
In order to buy a new house, the married couple is working very hard.
NeutralProgressiveAffirmativeClause InitialDeclarativeHome & HousingFamily & RelationshipsWork & Career
日本語能力試験に合格するため、彼は毎日３時間勉強した。
In order to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, he studied for three hours every day.
将来困らないため、若いうちから貯金しておくべきだ。
In order to not have trouble in the future, you should save money while you're young.
お客様の安全のため、手荷物検査にご協力ください。
For the safety of our customers, please cooperate with the baggage inspection.
この会議は、来年度の予算を決定するため開かれました。
This meeting was held in order to decide next fiscal year's budget.
This word has two main uses. It can mean 'for a goal' or 'because of something'. You can tell the difference by what comes before it. If it's a planned action, it means 'for a goal'. If it's something that just happens, it means 'because of'.
This is different from 〜ように. You use 〜ため for things you can control. You use 〜ように for things you cannot control directly. For example, 'so I can speak Japanese'. 〜ため sounds a bit more formal. People use it more in writing.
Don't use this when you are talking with friends. It can sound too formal. For example, saying "I study for the test" as "Shiken no tame ni benkyou suru" is okay, but "Shiken no tame benkyou suru" is too stiff.
Track your mastery
Kumi's KMT system tracks your mastery across kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and reading. Create a free account to use it on 220,000+ concepts.