Breakdown of wèile ānquán, wǒmen bù zài mǎlù biān sànbù.
Questions & Answers about wèile ānquán, wǒmen bù zài mǎlù biān sànbù.
为了 introduces a purpose or reason, similar to “for the sake of / in order to”.
- 为了安全，我们不在马路边散步。
→ For the sake of safety, we don’t take walks by the roadside.
Structure: 为了 + goal/purpose + …
If you use just 为, it often sounds a bit more formal or literary in this kind of sentence, and in modern spoken Chinese 为了 is much more common for “in order to…”.
Examples:
- 为了健康，我每天跑步。 – For my health, I run every day.
- (more formal) 为健康，我每天跑步。 – Grammatically okay, but a bit written/formal.
Yes. All of these are grammatically okay, with slightly different emphasis:
为了安全，我们不在马路边散步。
– Neutral and very natural. The purpose is introduced first.我们为了安全，不在马路边散步。
– Puts a bit more focus on “we”: We, for safety, don’t walk by the roadside.我们不在马路边散步，是为了安全。
– Sounds explanatory: We don’t walk by the roadside — (that) is for safety.
You’d use this when explaining a rule.
All keep the same core meaning: the action is avoided for safety.
In 为了安全, 安全 functions like a noun: “safety”.
- 为了安全 → “for safety / for the sake of safety”
You might expect something like 安全的散步 (“safe walk”), but the sentence doesn’t describe the walk as safe; it states that for safety, we avoid a certain behavior.
Other examples of this kind of usage:
- 为了健康 – for (the sake of) health
- 为了公平 – for fairness
- 为了节省时间 – to save time
So there’s no 的 because 安全 here is not directly modifying a following noun; it itself is the goal.
In this sentence, 不在 is not a single word; it’s:
- 不 – negation (“not”)
- 在马路边散步 – “walk by the roadside” with 在 as a preposition marking location.
The structure is:
不 + 在 + place + Verb → not (do something) at (a place)
So: 不 在马路边 散步 = “do not walk by the roadside.”
This is different from:
- 不在 (bù zài) as a verb phrase: “to not be (at a place / present)”
- 他不在。– He’s not here.
And also different from:
- 不再 (bú zài): “no longer”
- 我不再抽烟。– I no longer smoke.
In your sentence, you should understand the break as:
我们 / 不 / 在马路边 / 散步.
The pattern is:
在 + place + Verb
This means “do (Verb) at (place)”.
- 在马路边散步 – to take a walk by the roadside
- 在公园散步 – to take a walk in the park
- 在家工作 – to work at home
You could say 在马路边走路 grammatically; it would mean “walk by the roadside” in a more neutral way. 散步 specifically means “to take a walk / stroll (for leisure)”, which fits the idea of “taking a walk” better than 走路 (which is more like “to walk (as a way of moving)”).
- 路 is a more general word for “road / way / path”.
- 马路 usually refers to a vehicle road, especially one where cars drive (a street / roadway).
In this sentence, 马路边 emphasizes the car road / street side, which is more clearly associated with traffic danger.
You could say:
- 路边 – side of the road (more general; still understandable)
- 马路边 – specifically by the roadside where cars are
Both are correct, but 马路边 makes the “traffic safety” idea clearer.
边 means “side” or “edge”.
- 马路边 literally: “the side of the road”.
- It’s a common, concise way to say “by the roadside”.
Related forms:
- 旁边 – “beside / next to”
- 马路旁边 – at the side of the road; next to the road
- 边上 – also “on/by the side of …”, slightly more colloquial in many regions
- 马路边上 – on/by the roadside
All of these are natural:
- 在马路边散步
- 在马路旁边散步
- 在马路边上散步
The meaning is essentially the same; 马路边 is just the shortest and very common.
散步 means “to take a walk / to stroll”, usually for relaxation, leisure, or light exercise.
- 我们在公园散步。 – We’re taking a walk in the park.
走路 literally means “to walk (on foot)”, often just describing the way you move, not necessarily for leisure.
- 我走路去学校。 – I walk to school (as my mode of transport).
So:
- 散步 – walking as an activity for enjoyment/exercise
- 走路 – walking as a means of moving from A to B
In this sentence, 散步 fits naturally because it’s about “taking a walk” as an activity, not just moving along the road.
不 is used for statements about habits, facts, rules, or general truths.
- 我们不在马路边散步。
→ We do not (as a rule / generally) walk by the roadside.
别 is mainly used for imperatives / commands / warnings: “don’t (do something)!”.
- 为了安全，别在马路边散步。
→ For safety, don’t walk by the roadside. (telling someone not to)
So, your sentence is stating a rule or habitual behavior, hence 不, not 别.
为了安全 means “for the sake of safety / in order to be safe” (future-oriented purpose).
- We avoid the behavior so that we will be safe.
因为安全 would mean “because it is safe”, which would express a different logic:
- 因为这里很安全，我们常常在这儿散步。
– Because it’s safe here, we often take walks here.
In your sentence, the idea is purpose (we don’t do X in order to be safe), so 为了 is appropriate.
因为安全，我们不在马路边散步。 sounds odd: “Because (it is) safe, we don’t walk by the roadside” — that doesn’t match the intended meaning.
You can omit 我们 in some contexts, especially in written notices or very general statements, and it would be understood as a general rule or suggestion:
- 为了安全，不在马路边散步。
However:
- With 我们, the sentence clearly means “we (ourselves)” don’t do this.
- Without it, it feels more like an impersonal rule or an instruction (though still grammatically a statement).
Both are grammatical; choice depends on whether you want to stress “we” as the subject.
Yes, there’s a subtle difference in naturalness and focus.
我们不在马路边散步。
– Very natural. Means: “We do not take walks by the roadside.”
(The whole activity “walking by the roadside” is negated.)我们在马路边不散步。
– Grammatically possible, but sounds a bit strange or marked.
It puts focus on “at the roadside, we don’t walk (we perhaps do something else)”. In practice, people almost never say it this way in this context.
For negating location + activity, the usual pattern is:
不 + 在 + place + Verb
我们不在马路边散步。
Yes, it’s natural and clear.
Some common alternative phrasings with the same idea:
- 为了安全，我们不在路边散步。
- 为了安全，我们不在马路边走来走去。
– “…we don’t pace back and forth by the roadside.” - 为了安全，我们尽量不在马路边散步。
– “…we try not to walk by the roadside.”
But your original sentence:
- 为了安全，我们不在马路边散步。
is perfectly good, natural Mandarin.