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.
结构
主语 + 以 + A + 为 + B（主／目标／骄傲／第一…）
讲解
本文中的中文词语都可以激活，查看词典释义。
“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 .
正确
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.
错误 — 常见错误
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.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 这家饭馆的客人以年轻人主。
正确
Correct sentence: 这家饭馆的客人以年轻人为主。
为什么: 为 is the verb of the frame; without it, nothing assigns the role.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 他的父母一直以他为了骄傲。
正确
Correct sentence: 他的父母一直以他为骄傲。
为什么: This 为 is wéi “to be, to act as”, not 为了 “in order to”.
不太对
Incorrect sentence: 这家饭馆的客人是年轻人为主。
正确
Correct sentence: 这家饭馆的客人以年轻人为主。
为什么: 为主 needs 以 to introduce what is taken as the main part; 是 cannot stand in for it.
对比
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 →小测验
第 1 题 / 3总分: 0
Fill the gap: “This shop’s customers are mainly students.”
这家店的客人 ___ 学生为主。