Whose Point of View
にとって marks the person or group from whose perspective a judgement is made.
- 私にとって家族が一番大切です。(For me, family matters most.)
What follows is almost always an evaluation: important, difficult, precious, necessary.
The Test That Separates It From に対して
にとって takes a judgement. に対して takes an action.
| Sentence | Why |
|---|---|
| ○ 学生にとって難しい | 難しい is a judgement |
| ○ 学生に対して説明する | 説明する is an action |
| × 学生にとって説明する | you can't act "from" a standpoint |
If you can insert "as far as ~ is concerned", にとって is right.
Not the Same as は
は also introduces a topic, but にとって states explicitly that the judgement is relative:
- 私は難しいです。(I find it hard.)
- 私にとって難しいです。(For someone like me, it's hard.)
The second implies others might feel differently.
にとっての
Before a noun, use にとっての:
- 子供にとっての幸せ(happiness as a child sees it)