にとってfor, to; from someone's point of view
にとって names whose point of view a judgment is made from: important to me, hard for beginners. A judgment follows it, not an action or an attitude.
To me, this town is a second home.
Applying online is hard for older people.
How to form it
Noun + にとって + judgment
The noun is usually a person or a group: 私, 子ども, 会社. にとっては sets one point of view against another.
Before a noun
Noun + にとっての + noun
私にとっての宝物, what counts as a treasure to me.
What follows: a judgment
What something is or means from where that person stands: 大切だ, 必要だ, 難しい, 簡単だ, ありがたい, or a noun such as 問題だ or チャンスだ. English says "to" or "for", or turns the sentence around: "children need".
Children need safe places to play.
It may be easy for him, but it is hard for me.
This experience became a major turning point for her.
Not an action, not an attitude
English "for me" and "to me" go with almost anything. にとって doesn't. Kindness shown to you, a stance you take, something done for you: each is said another way.
She is important to me.
A judgment: what she is to me.
She is kind to me.
Kindness is aimed at me: plain に, or に対して.
Not said: 私に
(As for me, I'm against this plan.)
Your own stance: 私はこの計画に反対です.
Not said: 母は
(My mother made a packed lunch for me.)
Done for you: 私に, or 私のために.
And not "in my opinion"
English "for me", "to me" and "from my point of view" also open an opinion. 私にとって doesn't: it says what something is for you, not what you think. The one who thinks is 私は.
Not said: 私に
(In my opinion, this team will win.)
私は、このチームが勝つと思います.
In conversation, often just には
にとって is neutral, at home in conversation as well as in essays and speeches. With 難しい, 無理だ, 大きすぎる and the like, everyday speech often has just には.
This kanji is too hard for me.
について, にとって or として?
All three follow a noun and are easy to mix up. The same noun, three ways:
The teacher talked about the international students.
What you talk, think, write or ask about.
For international students, keigo is one of the tougher challenges.
Whose point of view a judgment is made from. A judgment follows: hard, important, necessary.
She came to Japan as an international student.
The role or capacity someone or something acts in: she is a student herself.
Close neighbours
に対してN3
Who or what an attitude, a reply or an action is aimed at. Hard for students is にとって; hard on students is に対して.
This teacher is strict with international students too.
から見るとN2
How something looks to someone: what they see in it, not what it means for them.
As a user sees it, this screen has too much information.
Check yourself
1Which sentence is right?
Choose an answer to see why.
2"My older sister bought a ticket for me."
姉が
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
For a hospital, patient safety comes first.
This is a big challenge for me.
For beginners, having lots of features is not always a good thing.
For the local community, the rise in tourists is both a big opportunity and a challenge.