JLPT N3 · Reason & cause

ために (tame ni)

ために — “for the sake of ～ / because of ～”

In short · ために has two uses. It shows a purpose (“in order to ～, for the sake of ～”) and a cause (“because of ～”). Which meaning applies depends on what comes before it and what the sentence is about.

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Pattern

名詞＋の＋ために（目的） noun + の + ために: for the sake of (健康のために, 家族のために)
動詞辞書形＋ために（目的） volitional verb dictionary form + ために: in order to
名詞＋の＋ために（原因） noun + の + ために: because of (大雪のために) — result is not a deliberate act

Purpose use

To state a goal, use a noun + の or a verb in the dictionary form: 健康のために, 合格するために. The verb must express something you can do on purpose. Both halves share the same subject: 私は〜ために、私は〜.

Cause use

To state a cause, ために follows a noun + の or a plain-form clause: 大雪のために、道路が通れなくなった. The result describes an event or state, not a will or request. This use is often written and somewhat formal, close to ので but harder in tone.

Telling them apart

If the second half is something the speaker does on purpose (歩いている, 働いている), ために means “for.” If it is something that simply happened (通れなくなった, 遅れた), it means “because.”

Examples

健康（けんこう）のために、毎日（まいにち）歩（ある）いています。

Kenkō no tame ni, mainichi aruite imasu.

I walk every day for my health.

Purpose: walking is a deliberate act.
家族（かぞく）のために、遠（とお）い町（まち）で働（はたら）いている。

Kazoku no tame ni, tōi machi de hataraite iru.

For the sake of my family, I work in a faraway town.
大雪（おおゆき）のために、道路（どうろ）が通（とお）れなくなった。

Ōyuki no tame ni, dōro ga tōrenaku natta.

Because of the heavy snow, the road became impassable.

Cause: the result is not a deliberate act.

Common mistakes

For purpose with a verb, the verb must be one you can do on purpose, and the subject of both halves is the same. Do not use it with 分かる or 見える.
For cause, the second half cannot be a request, command or wish. For a polite everyday reason, ので or から is more natural.

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