What is the difference between por and para in Spanish?

Knowing the difference between “por” and “para” can be a bit tricky, right? This is because both of them can be translated into English as “for” sometimes. But don’t worry, I’ve got your back! Let’s dive into the juicy details of these two little words that can sometimes drive Spanish learners crazy.

As always, practice makes perfect! Go online and search “por and para exercises” and you will see the amount of practice there is for free! 

A good way to improve your ability to choose between these two is to learn the uses and meanings of them separately first.

Let’s begin with the uses of “por”:

Let’s see now the uses of “para”:

You have to accept that there will be cases where maybe you see the example can fit under both of them and it’s harder to choose. The good thing is that you will probably be understood just fine even if you choose the wrong one. In my opinion, if you guide yourself from these 2 questions you will get many of your examples right:

• Can I translate it as “in order to” (para) or “because of” (por)?
• Is it closer to being a purpose (para) or a reason (por)?

See the following tips to get better at choosing between por and para:

I hope this was useful!