「以…起见」目的结构yǐ / wèi…qǐjiàn

For the Sake of: 以 / 为……起见 (yǐ / wèi…qǐjiàn)

Meaning: For the sake of / In the interest of (safety, convenience, caution, fairness)

Pattern

"以 + N/Adj + 起见" and "为(了) + N/Adj + 起见" (yǐ / wèi … qǐjiàn) are formal correlative frames expressing purpose or consideration ("for the sake of / in the interest of"):
(1) Placed at the beginning of a sentence followed by a comma, with the main clause stating the policy, instruction, or decision.
(2) The slot between "以/为" and "起见" is almost always filled by a disyllabic abstract noun or adjective representing a guiding principle: 安全 (safety), 方便 (convenience), 慎重 (caution), 公平 (fairness), 简便

1
以安全起见,请系好安全带。
Yǐ ānquán qǐjiàn, qǐng jì hǎo ānquán dài.
For the sake of safety, please fasten your seatbelt.
2
为慎重起见,我们再讨论一次。
Wèi shènzhòng qǐjiàn, wǒmen zài tǎolùn yī cì.
To be on the safe and cautious side, let's discuss it one more time.
3
以方便起见,会议地点改在公司楼下。
Yǐ fāngbiàn qǐjiàn, huìyì dìdiǎn gǎi zài gōngsī lóu xià.
For the sake of convenience, the meeting venue has been changed to downstairs of the company.
4

•Between 以/为(了) and 起见 must be a disyllabic abstract noun/adjective (安全, 方便, 慎重, 公平), never a concrete action verb.

⚠️ Common Mistakes:

•Using 以…起见 in casual everyday banter (e.g., *以吃饭起见): it belongs to formal notices and administrative prose.

•Inserting a concrete action verb inside the frame (*以走起见 / *以买书起见): use 为了 + V instead.

•Dropping 以/为 at the start or splitting 起见 apart from the frame.

•Failing to distinguish the register of 以…起见 (formal administrative principle) from general 为了 (universal purpose).

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