When do you use por vs para in Spanish?
By Mert Yerekapan · Updated
Use para when you're looking forward: a goal, a destination, a deadline or a recipient. Use por when you're looking back or around: a cause, an exchange, a duration, a means or movement through a place. Estudio para aprender (I study in order to learn) points to a goal. Estudio por mi trabajo (I study because of my job) points to a reason.
Para: where things are headed
Think of para as an arrow pointing at a target.
- Purpose: Uso esto para cocinar (I use this to cook)
- Destination: Salgo para Madrid mañana (I'm leaving for Madrid tomorrow)
- Deadline: Lo necesito para el viernes (I need it by Friday)
- Recipient: Este regalo es para ti (This gift is for you)
- Opinion or comparison: Para mí, es demasiado caro (For me, it's too expensive). Está muy alto para su edad (He's very tall for his age).
Por: the reason and the route
Por is broader, which is why it feels messier. The common uses:
- Cause or reason: Llegué tarde por el tráfico (I was late because of the traffic)
- Exchange: Pagué diez euros por el libro (I paid ten euros for the book)
- Duration: Estudié por dos horas (I studied for two hours)
- Means: Te llamo por teléfono (I'll call you by phone)
- Movement through or around: Caminamos por el parque (We walked through the park)
- On behalf of: Lo hizo por mí (He did it for me, in my place)
- Per: Cuesta cinco euros por persona (It costs five euros per person)
- Fixed phrases: por favor, por eso (that's why), por ejemplo (for example), por fin (finally)
The pair that trips everyone up
Both verbs can translate to "for", and the meaning changes completely:
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Trabajo para mi tío | I work for my uncle (he's my boss) |
| Trabajo por mi tío | I work on my uncle's behalf (covering for him) |
| Lo hice para ella | I did it for her (as a gift, for her benefit) |
| Lo hice por ella | I did it because of her (for her sake) |
A rule of thumb that works
Ask yourself two questions:
- Is there a goal, destination, deadline or receiver? Use para.
- Is there a cause, trade, length of time or path? Use por.
If you really can't decide, ask whether "in order to" fits. If it does, it's para. Para aprender works, and so does "in order to learn". Por aprender would sound more like "because of learning".
Common mistakes
- Saying Gracias para la ayuda. It's Gracias por la ayuda (Thanks for the help), because you're thanking someone for a past cause.
- Using por before an infinitive of purpose: Voy a la tienda para comprar pan (I'm going to the store to buy bread), not por comprar pan.
- Treating them as interchangeable. They're not, but in many sentences the wrong choice is still understood, so don't freeze up over it.
How to practice
I think this is one of those topics where reading rules gets you about 60 percent of the way, and the rest comes from exposure. Learn the fixed phrases as chunks and notice the pattern in stories and shows. If you're also working on past tenses, preterite vs imperfect is the next one worth tackling.
Langtok, the app I built, is one place to do that: you swipe through short Spanish stories and tap any word to check it when a por or para catches you out.