为

wèi

Pinyin
wèi
Pinyin (Plain)
wei
Tone
4
Strokes
4
Radical
丶
Readings
wèiweiTone: 4as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice)Order: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 324 704 Q 349 673 378 635 Q 390 619 406 617 Q 416 616 425 629 Q 432 644 428 676 Q 422 715 327 754 Q 311 761 304 759 Q 298 756 298 742 Q 299 730 324 704 Z", "M 460 496 Q 367 331 357 314 Q 353 311 350 305 Q 263 187 115 58 Q 108 54 104 47 Q 98 37 110 35 Q 143 32 266 135 Q 308 172 349 220 Q 449 341 527 509 L 542 542 Q 558 582 574 622 Q 614 725 630 751 Q 643 764 639 780 Q 627 804 598 828 Q 580 846 565 844 Q 550 840 553 823 Q 563 786 552 735 Q 540 704 528 664 Q 503 594 475 530 L 460 496 Z", "M 475 530 Q 459 529 443 525 Q 298 504 216 507 Q 194 510 192 497 Q 191 485 216 468 Q 247 446 277 454 Q 368 479 460 496 L 527 509 Q 612 525 699 534 Q 727 535 733 521 Q 742 502 738 454 Q 725 276 692 181 Q 674 121 655 103 Q 642 88 613 96 Q 571 109 533 121 Q 508 128 526 105 Q 581 50 612 6 Q 624 -19 648 -11 Q 670 -7 696 23 Q 772 101 798 406 Q 804 473 829 514 Q 848 539 838 551 Q 819 573 778 591 Q 748 606 717 591 Q 641 563 542 542 L 475 530 Z", "M 496 321 Q 524 291 554 256 Q 564 243 580 242 Q 590 241 597 253 Q 603 266 598 296 Q 591 332 497 368 Q 482 372 476 371 Q 472 368 471 355 Q 472 345 496 321 Z"]
Meaning
“为” most commonly means “to do; to act; to be; to become,” and appears in many everyday verbs (like 为了 “in order to” and 认为 “to think/believe”). It can also mean “for; for the sake of” when showing purpose or benefit, as in 为你 “for you.”
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 7:16:51 PM

Usage

“为” is a very common character that learners usually meet early on, but it’s confusing because it appears in several core patterns. In modern Mandarin, you’ll often see it in the verb sense of “to do / to act as / to be.” Examples include 为了 (wèile, “for; in order to”), used to express purpose (为了学习汉语，我每天练习。– “In order to learn Chinese, I practice every day”), and 为…而… (wèi… ér…, “do X for the sake of Y”). In these uses, it’s pronounced wèi and generally carries the meaning “for,” especially in formal or written Chinese: 为人民服务 (“serve the people”), 为国家工作 (“work for the country”). Learners also encounter 为 (pronounced wéi) in fixed words or set phrases where it works more like a verb “to be / to act as / to regard as.” Common items include 认为 (“to think; to consider”), 作为 (“as; to act as”), 以为 (“to think; to assume, often mistakenly”), 成为 (“to become”), and 作为… (“as a …,” e.g. 作为老师，我… – “As a teacher, I …”). In these compounds, the “为” part is not usually translated on its own, but it contributes the idea of “being” or “regarding something as.” For everyday learning, it’s most practical to remember “为” through these frequent set expressions rather than trying to assign it one fixed English meaning.

Handwriting Notes

为 in handwriting is quite compact and slightly rounded compared with its printed form. In most regular handwritten styles, it usually appears as a small, somewhat triangular shape with a “hooked” feel: the top tends to be narrow, with the lower part spreading a bit wider, giving the whole character a low, stable look. The individual parts are often connected more smoothly than in printed fonts, so learners typically see it as a single flowing unit rather than clearly separated components. Because of speed and personal style, writers may simplify or loosen the form: the curves can become straighter, the lower strokes may merge into a single sweep, and the hooks can be sharper or more curved, but the overall silhouette (narrow top, slightly wider bottom, compact center) stays recognizable. These stylistic variations matter when reading others’ notes or filling in digital handwriting boxes on phones and tablets, since people’s versions of 为 can range from neat and squared to very cursive and abbreviated. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many of these different handwritten styles, so they can usually identify 为 even when the strokes are not perfectly formed, as long as the overall structure and rough proportions resemble the typical handwritten shape.

Description

为 (simplified; traditional: 為) is a common Chinese character used mainly as a verb meaning “to do,” “to act,” or “to be (as)” and as a preposition meaning “for” or “because of.” In modern Mandarin it appears in words like 为什么 (wèishénme, “why”), 为了 (wèile, “in order to”), and 认为 (rènwéi, “to think; to believe”).

Common Words

  • 为wei4because of
  • 为何wei4 he2why
  • 大为da4 wei2very
  • 为首wei2 shou3head
  • 甚为shen4 wei2very

Example Sentences

我喜欢为。

wo3 xi3 huan5 wei4

I like because of.

为何很常见。

wei4 he2 hen3 chang2 jian4

为何 is very common.

我们在学习大为。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 da4 wei2

We are learning very.

这个为首很重要。

zhe4 ge5 wei2 shou3 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This head is important.

请写一下“为”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 wei4

Please write '为'.

Try writing this character