Naming a Role or Capacity
として states the role, status or category in which someone or something acts.
- 留学生として日本に来ました。(I came to Japan as an exchange student.)
The English "as" covers far more ground than として does, which is where the mistakes come from — として is only the role sense.
Against にとって
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 親として心配だ | I worry in my capacity as a parent |
| 親にとって心配だ | it's worrying from a parent's viewpoint |
として is what you are while acting. にとって is whose eyes the judgement is seen through. They overlap often enough that the distinction only matters when the sentence turns on it.
としての Before a Noun
- 教師としての責任(responsibility as a teacher)
としては — With a Comparison
Add は and it measures against what the role would lead you to expect, close to にしては:
- 新人としてはよくやっている。(He's doing well for a newcomer.)