にしては details
for a N; considering it is N — the result does not match the standard N sets
初めてにしては、うまく焼けたじゃん。
hajimete ni shite wa, umaku yaketa jan.
For a first go, that baked pretty well. casual
十一月にしては暖かい日が続いています。
juuichigatsu ni shite wa atatakai hi ga tsuzuite imasu.
For November, we've had a run of warm days. neutral
- contraction
Examples
for a N; considering it is N — measures the outcome against the definite standard the noun or clause names, and finds it out of line
初めてにしては、うまく焼けたじゃん。
hajimete ni shite wa, umaku yaketa jan.
For a first go, that baked pretty well. casual
十一月にしては暖かい日が続いています。
juuichigatsu ni shite wa atatakai hi ga tsuzuite imasu.
For November, we've had a run of warm days. neutral
一週間しか練習していないにしては、よく弾けていたと思う。
isshuukan shika renshuu shite inai ni shite wa, yoku hikete ita to omou.
Considering he had only practised for a week, he played well. neutral
新入社員にしては落ち着いた対応で、来客からもお褒めの言葉をいただきました。
shinnyuushain ni shite wa ochitsuita taiou de, raikyaku kara mo ohome no kotoba o itadakimashita.
For a new hire his handling was composed, and a visitor even paid him a compliment on it. formal
Formation
{N}にしてはattaches to nounplain clause + にしてはattaches to plain clause
Variant notes
- にしちゃ — the spoken squeeze of にしては — 初めてにしちゃうまいじゃん; never written outside dialogue.
Related patterns
Similar
にしては needs a DEFINITE standard the hearer can pin down — 六十歳にしては若い works where ?年にしては若い does not — while わりに happily takes a vague or gradable benchmark (年のわりに若い, 値段のわりにおいしい); reach for わりに when the yardstick is a scale, にしては when it is a named category or a stated fact.
Lookalikes
The same 〜にして stem one particle apart, and learners read them as one pattern — にしては measures a result against the standard its noun sets and lands on a surprised appraisal (新人にしては上手だ), while にしても concedes that noun as one case among several and lands on what holds anyway (新人にしても、それは言い過ぎだ); swapping は for も turns a compliment into a rebuke.
としては and にしては differ by one particle and both take a bare noun, but としては names a capacity the subject genuinely occupies and passes no verdict on it (教師としては当然の判断だ), while にしては says the subject falls outside what that category leads you to expect (教師にしては字が汚い) — としては has no mismatch reading at all.