The German preposition "für" most commonly translates to English "for" and it always takes the accusative case, which is important for the articles that follow it. For example, "für mich" means "for me," "für dich" means "for you," "für meinen Vater" means "for my father." Its core meaning is to indicate purpose, benefit, or the intended recipient. For example, "Das ist für dich" means "This is for you," and "Ich lerne Deutsch für meine Arbeit" means "I am learning German for my work." It can also mean "in favor of" as in "Ich bin für diese Idee" meaning "I am for this idea." In some expressions it corresponds to English "as" in time expressions, like "für immer" means "forever." A very common phrase you will see is "Was für ein..." which means "What kind of a..." as in "Was für ein Auto ist das?" meaning "What kind of car is that?" Because it is always accusative, you must say "für einen Mann" not "für einem Mann," and "für eine Frau" remains the same in accusative. It is one of the first prepositions German learners should master.
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