Ni Totte in Japanese: For, To and From the Standpoint Of

What ni totte means

Ni totte comes from the particle ni and toru, to take, and literally means something like taking it as regards. In practice it works as a viewpoint marker: X ni totte means as far as X is concerned, or for X. The sentence then says how something looks, feels or matters from that position.

The key idea is evaluation. Ni totte sentences answer the question how is this for that person? Kono shigoto wa watashi ni totte muzukashii, this job is difficult for me, is a typical example: the job is being judged, and ni totte tells you whose standard is being used.

Because it sets a viewpoint, ni totte pairs naturally with words such as taisetsu, important, hitsuyō, necessary, muzukashii, difficult, yūri, advantageous, mondai, a problem, and keiken, experience. It also appears in questions like anata ni totte shiawase to wa nan desu ka, what does happiness mean to you?

How to form ni totte

Ni totte always follows a noun. Most of the time that noun is a person, a group or an organisation, but it can also be a living thing or something treated as having interests, such as a city, a company or the environment.

There are three common shapes. Plain ni totte begins a viewpoint. Ni totte wa adds the topic particle for contrast or emphasis. Ni totte no links to a following noun, so you can describe the thing itself. The formal version ni torimashite appears in speeches and very polite writing.

Ni totte wa, ni totte mo and ni totte no

Adding wa gives the viewpoint the weight of a topic, often with a hint of contrast: for others it may be different, but for this person it is like this. Nihonjin ni totte wa futsū demo, gaikokujin ni totte wa mezurashii, it may be normal for Japanese people, but for foreigners it is unusual, sets two viewpoints side by side.

Ni totte mo means for this person too or even for this person. It is useful when you want to say that something applies across different groups, or that even an expert finds it hard.

Ni totte no turns the whole phrase into a modifier. Watashi ni totte no Nihon means Japan as it is for me, my Japan, and kodomo ni totte no ii kankyō means a good environment for children. It is common in titles, headlines and essays.

Ni totte vs no tame ni

This is the most common confusion, because both translate as for. The difference is between viewpoint and benefit. Ni totte says how something is from someone's standpoint. No tame ni says that an action is done for someone's benefit or for a purpose.

So kono kusuri wa kodomo ni totte kiken desu, this medicine is dangerous for children, is ni totte because it evaluates the medicine. Kodomo no tame ni kusuri o katta, I bought medicine for my child, is no tame ni because the action of buying benefits the child.

A simple test: if the sentence ends with an adjective or noun that judges something, reach for ni totte. If it ends with an action verb that someone does on behalf of someone else, reach for no tame ni.

Notice that kenkō appears with both patterns. For your health as a purpose of walking takes no tame ni; good for your health as a judgement of walking takes ni totte.

Ni totte vs ni taishite

Ni taishite means towards, against or in response to. It marks the target of an action or an attitude: kyaku ni taishite shitsurei da, rude to the customer, or sensei wa gakusei ni taishite yasashii, the teacher is kind to the students.

The English word to hides the difference. Ni totte is to in the sense of in the eyes of: this is important to me. Ni taishite is to in the sense of directed at: be kind to them. If the person is the one receiving someone's behaviour, use ni taishite. If the person is the one doing the judging or being affected, use ni totte.

Ni totte vs to shite

To shite means as, in a role or capacity: kyōshi to shite hataraku, work as a teacher. When learners want to say speaking as someone, or in my position, they sometimes use ni totte instead, but that changes the meaning.

Watashi to shite wa sansei desu means speaking for myself, I agree: it states a position. Watashi ni totte wa taisetsu desu means to me, it is important: it evaluates something. When the sentence expresses your stance, opinion or decision rather than how something affects you, to shite wa is the natural choice.

Common mistakes with ni totte

• Using it for actions done on someone's behalf: haha ni totte ryōri o tsukutta is wrong; say haha no tame ni ryōri o tsukutta.
• Using it for attitudes towards someone: kare wa watashi ni totte shinsetsu da sounds odd; say kare wa watashi ni taishite shinsetsu da, or simply watashi ni shinsetsu da.
• Using it to state an opinion or stance: watashi ni totte hantai desu is unnatural; say watashi wa hantai desu or watashi to shite wa hantai desu.
• Putting it after a verb or adjective: attach it to a noun, or turn the phrase into a noun with hito, koto or no.
• Overusing watashi ni totte in every sentence: once the viewpoint is clear from context, Japanese usually drops it.

Ni totte in real contexts

Ni totte is common in essays, speeches, interviews and news, because those are the places where people explain what things mean to different groups. It is also everyday conversation: talking about a favourite place, a hard exam or why a job matters to you.

In job interviews, questions such as anata ni totte shigoto to wa nan desu ka, what does work mean to you, are a classic prompt, and answering with watashi ni totte, shigoto wa... is the expected frame. In speeches, the formal ni torimashite shows up in lines like minasama ni torimashite, for all of you.

Ni totte is generally taught at JLPT N3, and it keeps appearing in N2 and N1 reading passages, often in the ni totte no form inside longer noun phrases.