for; for the sake of; on behalf of
Expresses purpose or benefit: doing something for someone or something, or for a goal. Follows nouns or dictionary-form verbs.
I work every day for the sake of my family.
I walk every day for my health.
I cooked for my family.
because of; due to; as a result of
Expresses cause or reason. Follows nouns, adjectives, or verbs in plain form. Often used with のだ/から structure when giving explanations.
The game was canceled because of the rain.
I was late because the roads were crowded.
I decided to get a certification for the sake of my future.
I studied every day in order to pass the exam.
Because the roads were crowded, I ended up being late.
Because a typhoon came, the trains stopped.
ために directly states a purpose or cause, while ように expresses a hoped-for or potential state and is used with intransitive or potential verbs.
から gives a subjective, personal reason, whereas ために presents a cause more objectively and formally.
せい blames a negative outcome on something (usually with で), while ために is neutral and can express either positive or negative causes.
おかげ credits a good result to someone or something (usually with で), while ために is neutral and works for both good and bad causes.
ために is the standard way to express purpose in both speech and writing, while のに in this sense is more casual and typically appears in evaluative phrases like 〜のに便利だ.
ために also expresses purpose, but ように is used when the desired outcome is less directly controllable, such as with potential or involuntary verbs.
ために explicitly means 'for the sake of' or 'in order to,' while verb + には (as in 合格するには) instead highlights the condition or requirement needed to achieve something.
for whom
Kanji spelling is rare and formal; learners should use the kana form.
Outdated kanji variant; not used in modern Japanese.
Derived from the noun 為 (ため, 'benefit, sake') combined with the particle に. The kanji 為 is rarely used in modern writing for this conjunction.