～に対して
toward / in contrast with
～に対して（にたいして）attaches to a noun and marks it as the target that an action or attitude is directed at, like English “toward” or “to”.
It has a second job as well: after a clause, ～のに対して sets up a contrast between two things, like “whereas”.
1. Target of an action or attitude
Use Noun + に対して to say who or what an attitude, feeling, or response is aimed at.
学生に対して優しい先生です。
“He is a teacher who is kind toward students.”
- 学生（がくせい）= student(s)
- に対して（にたいして）= toward
- 優しい（やさしい）= kind, gentle
- 先生（せんせい）= teacher
- です = is
2. Contrast between two things
After a clause plus の, ～のに対して contrasts two subjects or situations: “A is like this, whereas B is like that.”
兄はスポーツが得意なのに対して、弟は音楽が好きです。
“Whereas my older brother is good at sports, my younger brother likes music.”
- 兄（あに）= older brother
- は = topic marker
- スポーツ = sports
- が = subject marker
- 得意な（とくいな）= good at
- のに対して（のにたいして）= whereas, in contrast to
- 弟（おとうと）= younger brother
- 音楽（おんがく）= music
- 好き（すき）= likes
How to form it
Noun + に対して (target); plain clause + のに対して (contrast)
- 学生（がくせい）= student → 学生に対して（がくせいにたいして）= toward students
- 質問（しつもん）= question → 質問に対して（しつもんにたいして）= in response to a question
- 静かな（しずかな）= quiet → 静かなのに対して（しずかなのにたいして）= whereas (it) is quiet
Key idea
～に対して points an arrow at something: either the target an action or attitude is aimed at, or the other side of a contrast.
Other N3 grammar
Updated .