"As", "for" and "to" a person: として, にとって, に対して
English "for", "to" and "as" each mean several things. Japanese keeps them apart: として for someone in a role, に対して for someone an attitude or an action is aimed at, and にとって for someone from whose point of view a judgment is made. Three more forms also give a point of view; にとって is the first to learn.
| Form | What comes before it | In English |
|---|---|---|
| として | A role the person holds | as an engineer |
| に対して | Who or what an attitude, a reply or an action is aimed at | rude to a customer, fair with a student |
| にとって | The person something is hard, important or necessary for | hard for me, important to me |
| としては | The person whose view, wish or decision follows, often you | for my part |
| にしたら, にすれば, にしてみれば | Someone else, whose place you imagine yourself in | in the patient's place |
| から見ると, からすると | Whoever is looking, you included | to an expert's eye |
として: as, in a role
Full pageとしてN3
として names the role or capacity someone acts in: a job, a position or a relationship.
I work as an engineer in Tokyo.
I am speaking honestly to you as a friend.
English "as" also means "when I was". として doesn't.
Not said: 子どもとして、
(As a child, I often played in the river.)
子どものころ, "when I was a child".
に対して: to, toward, with, against
Full pageに対して・
に対して marks who or what an attitude, a reply or an action is aimed at. Before a noun it is に対する.
Speaking like that is rude to a customer.
The teacher is fair with every student.
There were opinions both for and against this proposal.
The opinions are aimed at the proposal.
Plain に often says the same thing more lightly: お客様に失礼だ. に対して suits writing and careful speech, and for simply handing something over it is too heavy.
Sounds odd: 私は
I lent a book to a friend.
友人に本を貸した.
After a clause ending in の, に対して means "whereas".
にとって: for me, to me
Full pageにとってN3
にとって names the person from whose point of view a judgment is made. What follows says what something is or means for that person: 大切だ, 必要だ, 難しい. With 難しい, 無理だ and the like, everyday speech often has just には.
To me, this town is a second home.
Applying online is hard for older people.
This kanji is too hard for me.
として, に対して or にとって?
The same noun, three ways.
She came to Japan as an international student.
Her role: she is a student herself.
This teacher is strict with international students too.
The strictness is aimed at them.
For international students, keigo is one of the tougher challenges.
What it is for them: hard.
Hard for students is にとって; hard on students is に対して.
Where it goes wrong
English "for me" and "to me" go with almost anything. にとって doesn't. How someone treats you, what they do for you and what you think are each said another way.
She is kind to me.
How she treats me: plain に, or に対して.
Not said: 母は
(My mother made a packed lunch for me.)
Done for you: 私に, or 私のために.
Not said: 私に
(In my opinion, this team will win.)
What you think: 私は、このチームが勝つと思います.
としては: where someone stands
Full pageとしてはN2
としては after a person or an organization says where they stand. What follows is a view, a wish or a decision, and 私としては, "for my part", marks it as yours: others may see it differently.
For my part, I'm in favor of this plan.
Not 私にとって, which can't give a stance.
Without は, として is the role someone does something in.
As a pharmacist, she explained to the patient how to take the medicine.
What she did as a pharmacist.
As a pharmacist, I find these instructions hard to follow.
What a pharmacist thinks, speaking as one.
にしたら・にすれば・にしてみれば: in someone's place
Full pageにしたら・
にしたら, にすれば and にしてみれば mean the same: you put yourself in someone else's place and say how things look or feel from there. だろう often follows, since you are guessing. にとって states what something is for them; にしたら imagines how it feels.
For an older person, a sudden change in how to apply must be hard to cope with.
Put yourself in the patient's place: waiting a whole week for the test results must be worrying.
から見ると・からすると: how things look to someone
Full pageから見ると・
After a person, から見ると and からすると mean much the same: how things look to them. にとって is what something means for the person it affects; から見ると is what a person sees when they look at it, and it need not affect them at all.
To an expert's eye, this repair is no more than a stopgap.
For the people who live there, late-night noise is a serious problem.
にとって fits here too: the noise is a problem for them.
から言うと, often taught with these two, doesn't go straight after a person.
Not said: 先生から
(From the teacher's point of view, this essay still needs a lot of work.)
先生から見ると, or 先生の立場から言うと.
としては, にしたら or から見ると?
All three fit one sentence.
As a parent, I worry about my child living alone.
Where a parent stands; here the parent is speaking.
Put yourself in the parents' place: a child living alone is a worry.
Usually said by someone else, imagining the parents' place.
Seen from the parents' side, a child living alone is a worry.
How it looks to parents, whoever says it.
For your own view there is 私としては, and 私から見ると, "as I see it". 私にしたら is not for your own opinion.
Not said: 私に
(For my part, I'm in favor of this plan.)
私としては、この案に賛成です.
Easily confused with にとって
にしてはN3
"For a ten-year-old": not what you would expect of one. にとって is not this "for" either.
This child is very calm for a ten-year-old.
についてN3
What you talk, think, write or ask about. It looks like にとって and means something else.
The teacher talked about the international students.