に対して・
Two jobs. After a noun, it marks who or what an attitude, a reply or an action is aimed at. After a clause ending in の, it sets two different things side by side to show how they differ.
toward a person
Speaking like that is rude to a customer.
in reply to something
The teacher answered the students' questions carefully.
in contrast
My older brother is quiet, whereas my younger brother talks a lot.
Toward
Noun + に対して
Toward, before a noun
Noun + に対する + noun
質問に対する答え, the answer to a question.
In contrast
Plain form + の + に対して
A な-adjective or a noun takes な: 静かなのに対して.
Which one is it?
| Toward | In contrast | |
|---|---|---|
| Before it | A noun: the person or thing it is aimed at | Usually a clause ending in の |
| After it | An attitude, a feeling, a response or an action | A second subject, and what is different about it |
| In English | to, toward, with, against, for | whereas, while |
Toward: who or what it is aimed at
Rude to a customer, fair with a student, against a plan, thanks for your help: English picks a new word each time. Japanese can say に対して for all of them.
The teacher is fair with every student.
The company responded to the complaint at once.
There were opinions both for and against this proposal.
We sincerely thank you for your support.
A set way to give thanks in a speech or a letter.
Plain に often says the same thing more lightly: お客様に失礼だ. に対して spells out the target, so it suits writing and careful speech. For simply handing something over, it is too heavy.
Sounds odd: 私は
I lent a book to a friend.
This reads like a legal document. Say 友人に本を貸した.
Before a noun: に対する
Violence against children must never be tolerated.
The government's stance on this issue is being called into question.
In contrast: two different things side by side
Two different people, places or times are matched point for point: A is like this, B is like that. The first half ends in の, which is not the のに of "even though".
My father answered at once, whereas my mother thought about it for a while.
The morning flight was full, whereas the evening flight had plenty of empty seats.
それに対して opens a new sentence with the same contrast.
The number of applicants fell last year. This year, in contrast, it rose by thirty percent.
This is how essays, reports and the news lay out a contrast. In conversation people just say けど: 兄は静かだけど、弟はよくしゃべる.
Close neighbours
反面N3
Two sides of one thing, usually good against bad.
This medicine works well, but it also has strong side effects.
一方（で）N3
It fits two different things, two sides of one thing, and one person doing two things, so it does not say which kind of pair this is. 反面 and に対して do.
My older sister works during the day and also goes to school at night.
についてN3
What you talk, think, write or ask about. Nothing is aimed at it.
I am thinking about next year's plan.
にとってN3
Whose point of view a judgment is made from. A judgment follows: hard, important, necessary.
She is important to me.
Check yourself
1What does this say?
部長は
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
夏は
Choose an answer to see why.
3Which one fits?
問題は、
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
With numbers: for every
There is one teacher for every ten students.
A contrast after a noun
Now and then only a noun and its description come first. A second person still follows, and how she differs.
In contrast to my quiet older sister, my younger sister is lively.
More sentences
The hospital asks visitors to wear masks.
The committee asked the university to publish the results of the investigation.
This teacher is strict with international students too.
My older brother is a morning person, whereas my younger brother is a night person.
The old school building is quiet, whereas the new one is always lively.
It rained in the coastal areas, whereas it turned to snow inland.