として
- 1In the role, position, or capacity of the preceding noun.Ex. 1
- 2Serving the purpose of, or in the form of, the preceding noun.Ex. 2
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Neutral in register and common in both speech and writing. It is used to state the role, position, or qualification from which someone acts, or the purpose or form something serves. Unlike にとって, which gives the viewpoint behind a judgment, として names the capacity itself. Unlike について, it does not introduce a topic of discussion.
Learners often write 私として難しい when they mean 私にとって難しい ('difficult for me'); use にとって for evaluations.
Do not place として directly before a noun; use としての to modify a noun.
Do not use として to mean 'about' a topic; that meaning requires について.
- 1.にとってN3「にとって」means 'for...' and is followed by evaluations such as importance or difficulty; it does not express one's stance, while 「として」describes actions or judgments made in a certain capacity or name. Say 「私にとって大切だ」, but to state your position use 「私としては反対だ」.
- 2.としてはN2「としては」is 「として」plus 「は」. When expressing a stance, it is followed by opinions or attitudes; it also has an evaluative sense of 'counts as... measured by the general standard of that category' (e.g., 「新人としては上出来」), and in that usage it cannot be replaced with 「として」.
- 3.〜としてのN2「としての」is the attributive form of 「として」and must be followed by a noun, as in 「教師としての立場」; when a verb or predicate follows, only 「として」can be used. The meaning is the same—choose based on what is being modified, and they are not interchangeable.
- 4.〜にあたるN1「として」indicates acting in a certain capacity or under a certain name; 「にあたる」indicates that two things are equivalent in quantity, relationship, or meaning, or that a date falls on a particular day, while 「にあたって」means 'on the occasion of...' and is rather formal. The two are not interchangeable.
- 5.についてN3「について」means 'about' and introduces the topic of speaking, thinking, or investigating; 「として」focuses on identity, qualification, or capacity. They are not interchangeable: 「学生として話す」is speaking as a student, while 「学生について話す」is talking about students.
として names the role or capacity itself; にとって gives the viewpoint from which a judgment is made, and について introduces a topic. としては is the topic-marked form ('as for one's position as…'), 〜としての is the attributive form that modifies a following noun, and 〜にあたる means 'to correspond to' or 'to be equivalent to' something.
