Take A as B: 以…为…
A written frame meaning “take A as B” or “treat A as B”. It is fixed in set phrases such as 以…为主, 以…为目标 and 以…为骄傲; 为 is read wéi.
Structure
主语 + 以 + A + 为 + B（主／目标／骄傲／第一…）
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
“This restaurant’s customers are mainly young people” — literally “take young people as the main part”. introduces A, and (wéi, second tone) assigns it a role B. The frame is classical in origin and belongs to written and formal Chinese, where it is far more compact than its spoken equivalents.
A handful of B slots cover most of what HSK 5 readers meet. … “mainly…”: . … “aim at…”: . … “be proud of…”: . … or … “put … first”: . In each, A can be a noun or a whole verb phrase.
Both halves are required. Dropping () or dropping () breaks the frame. And this is not “in order to”: it is the verb “to be, to act as”, read wéi, not wèi. In speech the same idea is usually expressed with A B, or simply with .
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
这家饭馆的客人以年轻人为主。這家飯館的客人以年輕人為主。
Zhè (fourth tone, falling) jiā (first tone, high and level) fànguǎn (fourth tone, falling) de (neutral tone) kèrén (fourth tone, falling) yǐ (third tone, dipping) niánqīngrén (second tone, rising) wéi (second tone, rising) zhǔ. (third tone, dipping)···
This restaurant’s customers are mainly young people.
他的父母一直以他为骄傲。他的父母一直以他為驕傲。
Tā (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) fùmǔ (fourth tone, falling) yìzhí (fourth tone, falling) yǐ (third tone, dipping) tā (first tone, high and level) wéi (second tone, rising) jiāo (first tone, high and level) ào. (fourth tone, falling)···
His parents have always been proud of him.
他从小就以成为一名医生为目标。他從小就以成為一名醫生為目標。
Tā (first tone, high and level) cóngxiǎo (second tone, rising) jiù (fourth tone, falling) yǐ (third tone, dipping) chéngwéi (second tone, rising) yì (fourth tone, falling) míng (second tone, rising) yīshēng (first tone, high and level) wéi (second tone, rising) mùbiāo. (fourth tone, falling)···
Since childhood he has set himself the goal of becoming a doctor.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 这家饭馆的客人以年轻人主。
Correct
Correct sentence: 这家饭馆的客人以年轻人为主。
Why: 为 is the verb of the frame; without it, nothing assigns the role.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他的父母一直以他为了骄傲。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他的父母一直以他为骄傲。
Why: This 为 is wéi “to be, to act as”, not 为了 “in order to”.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 这家饭馆的客人是年轻人为主。
Correct
Correct sentence: 这家饭馆的客人以年轻人为主。
Why: 为主 needs 以 to introduce what is taken as the main part; 是 cannot stand in for it.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
以 A 为 B is the written counterpart of 把 A 当作 B “treat A as B”: 他把老师当作朋友 ≈ 他以老师为朋友. Like 把, 以 brings its object forward before the main verb. The difference is register and fixedness: 把…当作… is everyday speech and works with any B; 以…为… is formal and lives mostly in set combinations — 为主, 为目标, 为骄傲, 为第一 — which are worth learning as units.
The 把 construction →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Fill the gap: “This shop’s customers are mainly students.”
这家店的客人 ___ 学生为主。