に対して details
write + toward
kaku nonitaishite
toward; against; in response to N — also: in contrast to N
彼、その質問に対してちゃんと答えなかったよね。
kare, sono shitsumon ni taishite chanto kotaenakatta yo ne.
He didn't really answer that question properly, huh. casual
兄はインドア派なのに対して、弟はアウトドア派だ。
ani wa indoaha na no ni taishite, otouto wa autodoaha da.
My older brother is an indoor type, whereas my younger brother is an outdoor type. neutral
- formal
- formal
Examples
toward; against; in response to — the target of an action, attitude, or reaction
彼、その質問に対してちゃんと答えなかったよね。
kare, sono shitsumon ni taishite chanto kotaenakatta yo ne.
He didn't really answer that question properly, huh. casual
先生は生徒たちに対して常に公平だった。
sensei wa seitotachi ni taishite tsuneni kouhei datta.
The teacher was always fair toward the students. neutral
当社は今回の件に対し、深くお詫び申し上げます。
tousha wa konkai no ken ni taishi, fukaku owabi moushiagemasu.
We sincerely apologize for this matter. formal
in contrast to — sets two situations against each other correlatively, usually with なのに対して
兄はインドア派なのに対して、弟はアウトドア派だ。
ani wa indoaha na no ni taishite, otouto wa autodoaha da.
My older brother is an indoor type, whereas my younger brother is an outdoor type. neutral
都市部の人口が増えているのに対して、地方は減り続けている。
toshibu no jinkou ga fuete iru no ni taishite, chihou wa heritsuzukete iru.
While the urban population is growing, the population in rural areas keeps shrinking. formal
Formation
{V}のにたいしてattaches to dictionary formplain clause + のに対してattaches to plain clausena-adj + なのに対してattaches to na-adjective{N}にたいしてattaches to noun{N}なのにたいしてattaches to noun
Variant notes
- に対し — て drops in news copy and written reports — 政府[せいふ]に対し抗議[こうぎ]した; never in conversation.
- のに対し — the same て-drop after clause＋の — 人口[じんこう]が増[ふ]えているのに対し、地方[ちほう]は減[へ]っている; written registers only.
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
Both set two situations against each other, but 一方で highlights two facets of a SINGLE topic (北海道は寒い一方で、沖縄は暖かい reads as one picture with two sides), while に対して's contrast sense needs two distinct comparands measured on the same dimension with structural parallelism on both halves of のに対して (兄はまじめなのに対して、弟は遊んでばかりだ) — swap in an unrelated pairing and に対して stops making sense.
Lookalikes
Learners routinely misread these as interchangeable ("toward/for N") — に対して marks the target an action or attitude is DIRECTED at (子供に対して厳しい "strict toward children" describes behavior aimed at them), while にとって frames the noun as the vantage point a judgment is made FROM (子供にとって難しい "difficult for children" describes how it looks from their side); swapping them either drops the directedness or invents a standpoint that isn't there.
Both take the shape に＋kanji＋して and both can loosely translate "regarding," but に関して names the SUBJECT MATTER under discussion (この問題に関して話し合う "discuss regarding this problem"), while に対して marks the target of an action or attitude and cannot introduce a mere topic of conversation the same way.
Both take the family's に＋[verb]て shape and a dictionary flattens both to "about/regarding," but について names a neutral topic of speech or thought while に対して marks the target of an action or attitude directed AT the noun — 日本について話す (talk about Japan) has no に対して equivalent, and 彼に対して怒る cannot become ×彼について怒る.