En resumen (the short version)
- Picture a trip. Para is the finish line: the goal, the destination, who the present is for and when you have to arrive.
- Por is the reason you set off and everything along the way: the route, how you pay, how you get in touch, the time of day.
- Some sentences change meaning with each one (por la mañana, para mañana), and lots of phrases are easiest learned whole.
✌🏼 ¡Hola aventurero!
You tell your teacher, very proudly, Voy a Granada por ver la Alhambra. And your teacher gives you that little teacher smile 😅
Close! But it's para ver la Alhambra.
Por and para both often mean "for" in English, so English can't help you choose. In this post I'll show you when to use por and para with one picture and a few tables, the visual way I explain grammar in my Visual Spanish Grammar Book. No list of twenty rules, te lo prometo.
One picture: a trip
Imagine you're going on a trip to Granada 🚗 Now look at which word goes with which part of it:
| Part of the trip | Por or para? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Why you're going | por | Voy a Granada por trabajo. |
| What you want to do there | para | Voy a Granada para ver la Alhambra. |
| The places you go through | por | Paramos a comer por el camino. |
| What you paid | por | Compré el billete por treinta euros. |
| How you send the details | por | Te paso el horario por email. |
| Where you're heading | para | Mañana salgo para Granada. |
| Who the souvenir is for | para | Este imán es para mi madre. |
| When you have to be back | para | Tengo que estar en casa para el lunes. |
See the pattern? Para lives at the finish line 🏁: the goal, the destination, the person who gets the present, the deadline.
Por is the reason you set off, and everything that happens on the way: the route, the money, the way you get in touch.
Para: everything at the finish line
| Use | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose (para + verb) | Ahorro para ir a Japón. | I'm saving to go to Japan. |
| Who something is for | Este pastel es para la abuela. | This cake is for Grandma. |
| Destination | El autobús para Málaga sale a las diez. | The bus to Málaga leaves at ten. |
| Deadline | El informe es para el viernes. | The report is due by Friday. |
| Opinion | Para mí, la mejor tortilla es con cebolla. | For me, the best tortilla is with onion. |
| Employer | Trabajo para una empresa alemana. | I work for a German company. |
| "For a…" (comparing) | Habla muy bien para ser principiante. | She speaks really well for a beginner. |
Teacher bit 🤓 The first one is the big one. Whenever English says "to" or "in order to" before a verb, meaning what for, Spanish usually wants para: Te llamo para preguntarte una cosa (I'm calling to ask you something).
Por: the reason and everything along the way
| Use | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|
| Reason or cause | No salimos por la lluvia. | We didn't go out because of the rain. |
| Thanks | Gracias por venir. | Thanks for coming. |
| Through or along | Damos una vuelta por el centro. | We're going for a walk round the centre. |
| Somewhere around | ¿Hay una farmacia por aquí? | Is there a chemist's around here? |
| Exchange | Te cambio mi bocadillo por tu ensalada. | I'll swap my sandwich for your salad. |
| How you contact someone | Hablamos por teléfono. | We spoke on the phone. |
| Part of the day | Me ducho por la noche. | I shower at night. |
| Who did it (passive) | El Quijote fue escrito por Cervantes. | Don Quixote was written by Cervantes. |
Gracias always goes with por, because what you're thanking someone for is the reason you're grateful.
Take a piece of paper and draw a line from your house to a flag 🏁. Write your por sentences along the line (the reason, the route, the price) and your para sentences next to the flag (the goal, the present, the deadline). It takes two minutes, and next time you hesitate, you'll see the picture.
Same sentence, different meaning
Sometimes both words work, but you end up saying something different. These pairs show the difference really clearly:
| With por | With para | |
|---|---|---|
| mañana | Lo hago por la mañana. (I'll do it in the morning.) | Lo hago para mañana. (I'll have it done by tomorrow.) |
| el centro | Vamos por el centro. (We're going through the centre.) | Vamos para el centro. (We're heading to the centre.) |
| mi madre | Compré flores por mi madre. (I bought flowers on her behalf, or because of her.) | Compré flores para mi madre. (I bought flowers to give to my mother.) |
In Spain you'll hear a por all the time, meaning "to go and get": Voy a por pan (I'm going to get bread), ¡Vamos a por ellos! (Let's go get them!). In Latin America people usually just say Voy por pan. Both are fine, but a por will make you sound very de aquí.
Porque, por qué and para que
These four look alike, so here they are side by side:
| Spanish | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Por qué? | Why? | ¿Por qué estudias español? |
| porque | because | Porque mi pareja es de Sevilla. |
| el porqué | the reason | No entiendo el porqué. |
| para que | so that | Te lo digo para que lo sepas. |
Notice that ¿por qué? (why?) asks for a reason, so it's por, and the answer porque (because) gives one. Same idea as on the trip: the reason you set off.
Para que is the purpose again, but with a different person. Te lo digo para que lo sepas means "I'm telling you so that you know". After para que, the verb goes into the subjunctive: sepas, not sabes. For more on question words like por qué, have a look at Spanish question words.
Don't use porque to mean "so that". Ahorro porque pueda viajar is wrong. It's Ahorro para viajar (same person) or Ahorro para que mis hijos puedan viajar (different person).
Phrases to learn whole
Lots of por and para live inside everyday phrases. Learn these like single words and you don't have to decide anything:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| por lo visto | apparently |
| por suerte | luckily |
| por poco | almost (Por poco pierdo el tren. I nearly missed the train.) |
| por si acaso | just in case |
| para siempre | forever |
| para nada | not at all |
| no es para tanto | it's not that big a deal |
No es para tanto is one you'll hear suuuper often in Spain, usually when someone's being a bit dramatic about something small.
Practise it this week
Describe your next trip
Write four sentences about a trip you'd like to take, two with por and two with para: Voy a Lisboa por el cumpleaños de mi amiga. Paso por Sevilla. Quiero ir para probar los pasteles de nata. Tengo que volver para el domingo. Say them out loud.
Answer a why question two ways
Ask yourself ¿Por qué estudias español? Answer once with porque (the reason) and once with para + a verb (the goal): Porque me encanta España and Para hablar con mis vecinos.
Use one phrase a day
Pick one phrase from the "Everyday phrases" table, like por si acaso, and use it in a sentence about your day: Me llevo el paraguas, por si acaso.
And if you choose the wrong one in a conversation, keep going. People will understand you either way 💛 Once por and para feel OK, ser or estar is the other pair worth sorting out.
Recap ✨
- Picture a trip: para is the finish line (the goal, the destination, who it's for, the deadline).
- Por is the reason you set off and everything on the way (the route, the price, how you get in touch, the time of day).
- Gracias always takes por: Gracias por venir.
- Some sentences change meaning: Lo hago por la mañana (in the morning) and Lo hago para mañana (by tomorrow).
- ¿Por qué? asks why, porque means because, and para que means so that.
If this way of seeing grammar works for you, my Visual Spanish Grammar Book does the same for all of Spanish grammar, with charts and colour-coded tables you can come back to whenever you get stuck.
Now I want to know 👀 Which por or para sentence always trips you up? Cuéntame in the comments!
Lucía ✨
Lucía · Linguist, translator, Spanish teacher and author of the Visual Spanish Grammar Book.
Come and learn Spanish with me and other aventureros like yourself at skool.com/learnspanish 🎉