にとって

The expression にとって is used to indicate from whose perspective or standpoint something is being evaluated or judged. It attaches to a noun (typically a person or group) and means "for ~", "to ~", or "from the standpoint of ~". It highlights that the statement that follows is a judgment, opinion, or evaluation specific to that person or group.

Usage notes

にとって is typically followed by evaluative or subjective statements – expressions of importance, difficulty, interest, necessity, etc. It is not used for objective facts that are true regardless of perspective.

✓

✗ わたくし私にとって、とうきょう東京にすんでいる住んでいる – This states an objective fact, not a subjective evaluation, so にとって is unnatural here.

Variations

にとって can also appear as にとっての when directly modifying a noun:

In more formal writing, にとりまして may be used as the polite equivalent:

Comparison with ～に対して

While にとって expresses "from the perspective of" and is used with subjective evaluations, にたいして対して means "toward" or "in contrast to" and describes actions or attitudes directed at someone. These two are not interchangeable.