The preposition برای barâ-ye presents a person as beneficiary or intended user and an event or thing as a goal: برای مادرم غذا پختم “I cooked food for my mother,” برای سفر آماده شدیم “we prepared for the trip.” Before a finite purpose clause, it expands to برای اینکه “so that/in order that.”
English for has many unrelated uses, so translation alone is unreliable. The useful core is orientation toward a beneficiary or goal. A gift is oriented toward its recipient, savings toward a future purchase, and an action in a برای اینکه clause toward a desired result.
Core construction map
| Meaning | Pattern | Example phrase | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| beneficiary | برای + person/group | برای مادرم | all registers |
| intended user/destination | برای + person/place/function | برای بخش فروش | all registers |
| purpose with noun | برای + noun/nominalized action | برای سفر، برای ثبتنام | all registers |
| purpose clause | برای اینکه + finite clause | برای اینکه دیر نرسیم | neutral standard |
| pronominal beneficiary | برای + clitic | برایم، برایش | standard and speech |
| colloquial counterpart | واسه + phrase | واسه بچهها | informal, regional: Tehran |
Beneficiaries and intended users
A beneficiary receives the advantage, use, or intended result of an action. The برای phrase is not automatically the direct object and does not take را.
برای پدرم سوپ درست کردم چون حالش خوب نبود.
barâ-ye pedar-am sup dorost kardam chun hâl-ash khub nabud.
I made soup for my father because he wasn't feeling well. (neutral standard)
این صندلی را برای مهمان نگه داشتهایم.
in sandali râ barâ-ye mehmân negah dâshte-im.
We have reserved this chair for the guest. (neutral standard; intended user)
نسخهی امضاشده برای واحد حقوقی است.
noskhe-ye emzâ-shode barâ-ye vâhed-e hoquqi ast.
The signed copy is for the legal department. (formal/institutional allocation)
With transfer verbs, به can identify an actual recipient or endpoint, while برای profiles intended benefit. Compare نامه را به مدیر دادم “I gave the letter to the manager” with نامه را برای مدیر نوشتم “I wrote the letter for the manager.” The first reports where the letter went; the second reports whom it was intended to serve.
Purpose with a noun or nominalized action
برای can orient an action toward an activity, event, or practical goal. The complement remains a noun phrase: برای امتحان “for the exam,” برای سفر “for the trip,” برای خرید بلیت “to buy tickets/for buying tickets.”
برای امتحان هفتهی آینده هر روز مرور میکنم.
barâ-ye emtehân-e hafte-ye âyande har ruz morur mi-konam.
I review every day for next week's exam. (neutral standard)
برای خرید بلیت باید شمارهی گذرنامه را وارد کنید.
barâ-ye kharid-e belit bâyad shomâre-ye gozarnâme râ vâred konid.
To buy a ticket, you must enter the passport number. (formal/polite instruction)
کمی پول برای تعمیر دوچرخه کنار گذاشتهام.
kami pul barâ-ye ta'mir-e docharkhe kenâr gozâshte-am.
I have set aside some money to repair the bicycle. (neutral standard)
Notice the ezâfe -e inside longer complements: امتحانِ هفتهی آینده، خریدِ بلیت، تعمیرِ دوچرخه. برای governs the whole noun phrase; it does not erase the noun phrase's internal links.
Purpose clauses with برای اینکه
When the goal contains its own finite verb and possibly its own subject, use برای اینکه + clause. The goal is normally not yet an established fact, so present subjunctive forms are frequent: نرسیم، بفهمید، بیدار نشوند.
برای اینکه دیر نرسیم، زودتر از خانه بیرون آمدیم.
barâ-ye inke dir narasim, zud-tar az khâne birun âmadim.
We left home earlier so that we wouldn't be late. (neutral standard)
برای اینکه بهتر متوجه شوید، یک مثال دیگر میزنم.
barâ-ye inke behtar motavajjeh shavid, yek mesâl-e digar mi-zanam.
I'll give another example so that you understand better. (formal/polite)
آهسته حرف زدیم برای اینکه بچه بیدار نشود.
âheste harf zadim barâ-ye inke bachche bidâr nashavad.
We spoke quietly so that the child would not wake up. (neutral standard; purpose clause after the main clause)
The purpose clause may come before or after the main clause. Initial placement frames the plan before the action; final placement often answers “why?” The detailed choice of mood and alternatives with تا belongs to Reason with چون and Purpose with تا.
English can use an infinitive when both clauses share a subject: I left early to arrive on time. Persian often uses a purpose noun phrase or تا/برای اینکه + subjunctive, not an English infinitive copied after برای.
Standard clitic forms
The pronominal forms are برایم، برایت، برایش، برایمان، برایتان، برایشان. They are standard in both writing and speech. The clitic is the object of the preposition, not a possessor in meaning.
استاد برایمان توضیح داد که چرا پاسخ اول اشتباه است.
ostâd barâ-yemân towzih dâd ke cherâ pâsokh-e avval eshtebâh ast.
The instructor explained to us why the first answer was wrong. (neutral standard)
یک نسخه هم برایتان کنار میگذارم.
yek noskhe ham barâ-yetân kenâr mi-gozâram.
I'll set aside a copy for you too. (polite standard)
این پیام را برایش فرستادم، ولی هنوز ندیده است.
in payâm râ barâ-yash ferestâdam, vali hanuz nadide ast.
I sent this message to him or her, but they haven't seen it yet. (neutral standard; ـش is gender-neutral)
For the complete prepositional-clitic system, see Clitics on Prepositions.
Colloquial برا and واسه
Everyday Tehran speech often reduces برای to برا before clitics—برام، برات، براش—and also uses واسه before a noun or independent pronoun (informal, regional: Tehran). These forms are natural in dialogue but not the default in formal prose.
این قهوه رو برات گرفتم.
in qahve ro barât gereftam.
I got this coffee for you. (informal, regional: Tehran)
واسه شام چیزی لازم داریم؟
vâse shâm chizi lâzem dârim?
Do we need anything for dinner? (informal, regional: Tehran)
آره، واسه بچهها یه کم میوه بگیریم.
âre, vâse bachche-hâ ye kam mive begirim.
Yeah, let's get a little fruit for the kids. (informal, regional: Tehran)
The question and reply form a short informal exchange: واسه شام marks purpose, while واسه بچهها marks the beneficiaries. Polite reference and informal morphology can coexist in friendly speech, but a formal letter should keep برای شما/برایتان, not واسه شما.
A minimal contrast: purpose versus cause
برای امتحان در خانه ماندم can mean that studying or preparing for the exam was the goal. بهخاطر امتحان در خانه ماندم presents the exam as the reason that caused the decision. The same noun participates in two different relations.
برای جلسهی فردا چند نمودار آماده کردم.
barâ-ye jalase-ye fardâ chand nemudâr âmâde kardam.
I prepared several charts for tomorrow's meeting. (intended purpose/use)
بهخاطر جلسهی فردا برنامهی سفر را عوض کردم.
be-khâter-e jalase-ye fardâ barnâme-ye safar râ avaz kardam.
I changed the travel plan because of tomorrow's meeting. (cause)
Common Mistakes
1. Stacking به after beneficiary برای
❌ این یادداشت را برای به مدیر نوشتم.
Incorrect — one phrase cannot use برای and به as competing heads in this sequence.
✅ این یادداشت را برای مدیر جدید نوشتم.
in yâddâsht râ barâ-ye modir-e jadid neveshtam.
I wrote this note for the new manager.
2. Adding را after a prepositional complement
❌ یک صندلی برای شما را نگه داشتیم.
Incorrect — شما is governed by برای; را cannot mark it again.
✅ یک صندلی کنار پنجره برای شما نگه داشتیم.
yek sandali kenâr-e panjare barâ-ye shomâ negah dâshtim.
We saved a seat by the window for you.
3. Separating a pronominal clitic
❌ این نامه برای ش است.
Incorrect — ـش must attach to the prepositional host.
✅ این پاکت برایش است.
in pâkat barâ-yash ast.
This envelope is for him or her.
4. Putting a finite purpose clause directly after برای
❌ زود آمدم برای دیر نرسم.
Incorrect — a finite purpose clause after برای requires اینکه.
✅ زود راه افتادم برای اینکه به پرواز برسم.
zud râh oftâdam barâ-ye inke be parvâz berasam.
I set off early so that I would catch the flight.
Key Takeaways
- برای orients an action or item toward a beneficiary, intended user, or goal.
- Use a noun phrase after برای, and برای اینکه + finite clause when the purpose has its own predicate.
- Internal ezâfe remains audible in phrases such as برای خرید بلیت.
- برایم، برایت، برایش are standard; برام، براش، واسه mark everyday Tehran speech.
- Do not confuse purpose with cause: برای جلسه آماده شدم versus بهخاطر جلسه برنامه را عوض کردم.
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- در، به، از، با، برایA1 — Use the five core Persian prepositions for location, destination, source, accompaniment, and beneficiary, with clear standard and colloquial contrasts.
- Accompaniment and Instrument with باA2 — Use با for companions, instruments, means, manner, and adversative relationships, including standard pronouns and colloquial باهاش-type forms.
- Clitics on PrepositionsB1 — Learn how Persian pronoun clitics attach to simple and complex prepositions, including formal forms such as برایش and colloquial forms such as باهات.
- Reason with چون and Purpose with تاA1 — Distinguish factual reasons with چون from intended purposes with تا, using the indicative and subjunctive naturally in Persian.
- Complementizer کهA2 — Link speech, thought, desire, and evaluation predicates to finite Persian content clauses with که and the appropriate mood.
- Preposition plus InfinitiveB2 — Use the Persian infinitive as a verbal noun after برای, قبل از, بدون, and related prepositions, while managing shared subjects and finite-clause alternatives.