Welcome back to our “Video & Article” series with tutor Miki. In this article and video, Wasabi Japanese tutor Miki teaches more in-depth aspects of the topic marker particle “は”. Miki introduces the particle combination “には”, and the very similar expression “にとって” and how to use each expression as well as what their differences are. This is a great read for Japanese learners of all levels!
| Table of Contents [Introduction] [Particle は: Quick review] [Particle: には] [Particle: にとって] [Comparing は, には, & にとって] |
[Introduction]
In the last session, we went over the similarities and differences between the particles “に” and “へ”. In this lesson, we will continue talking about particles - we will return to the particle and topic marker “は”. We will take a look at the particle combination “には”, and the particle and verb combination “にとって” which has a very similar meaning.[Particle は: Quick review]
As we have learned before, the particle “は” is used as a topic marker in Japanese. One other key aspect of “は” is that it is often used for comparisons or contrasting statements. This can be a bit confusing, since the comparison or contrast is often not specifically stated.For example:| 頭 が痛 い時 はこの薬 を飲 んでください。 |
| Please use this medicine in case you get a headache. |
[Particle: には]
So how would you use “には”, a combination of the particles に and は? には is used to emphasize parts of a sentence. As mentioned before, は is used for comparisons and contrasting a part of a sentence. Let’s use the example sentence from before, but use には instead this time:| 頭
が |
| Please take this medicine only when you have a headache. |
には strictly limits its the part of the sentence that comes before it, since it combines the topic marker は with に, which determines times and places. Another good example is:
| 君 の行動 が私 には意味 がわからない。 |
| I don’t understand your behaviour. |
[Particle: にとって]
“にとって” is a combination of the particle “に” and the verb “とる”, and combined it means “from the point of view of…”, or more simply “for…” or “to…”. にとって is usually followed by some kind of judgement: good or bad, meaningful or meaningless, useful or useless.For example:
| このオルゴール捨 ててもいい？ |
| Can I throw away this music box? |
| だめ！それは私 にとってとても大切 なもの。 |
| No! That is a very precious thing to me. |
[Comparing は, には, & にとって]
Let’s make the differences between は, には, and にとって clearer by using an exercise. Please look at the following three sentences and choose one of the three particles: は, には, or にとって:① 私 （ は/には/ にとって）あのやり方 には反対 です。-hint: disagree with method
② 私 （ は/には/ にとって）あのやり方 は全 く理解 できない。-hint: don’t understand the method at all
③ 私 （ は/には/ にとって）あのやり方 は全 く意味 がない。-hint: meaningless method
Correct answers: ① The correct choice is は; にとって is not applicable because there is no evaluation/judgement and since には is used at a different part in the same sentence, you usually wouldn’t use the same particle twice to avoid repetition and choose は.
| 私 はあのやり方 には反対 です。 |
| As for me, I disagree with this method. |
| 私 には、あのやり方 は全 く理解 できない。 |
| I personally do not understand this method at all. |
| 私 にとって、あのやり方 は全 く意味 がない。 |
| To me, this method is meaningless. |
単語リスト（Vocabulary list）
| 復習 する | To review |
| 助詞 | Particle |
| 場所 | Place, location |
| 語彙 | Vocabulary |
| 強調 する | To emphasize |
| 薬 | Medicine |
| 行動 | Action, conduct, behaviour |
| 意味 | Meaning |
| オルゴール | Music box |
| 捨 てる | To throw away |
| 大切 | Important, valuable |
| やり方 | Method, manner of doing |
| 反対 | Opposition, resistance |
| 理解 | Understanding, comprehension |