Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
について treats a topic neutrally — you talk, write, or ask about it. に対して implies a directed attitude or action: opposition, comparison, or a stance taken toward a target. Saying 先生について話す (talk about the teacher) is neutral, but 先生に対して話す means you address or direct something at the teacher, so swapping them changes the meaning.
- について Use について when you simply state, discuss, or ask about a topic with no opposing or comparative stance.
- に対して/対する Use に対して when an attitude, action, or comparison is directed at a target you oppose, contrast, or respond to.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| について nitsuite | About/Concerning | N3 |
| に対して/対する ni shite suru | Toward / in regard to / whereas | N3 |
について nitsuite
About/Concerning
About; on; concerning; regarding; with regard to; of | Concerning something/someone.
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スミスさんは日本へ留学することについて色々私に尋ねた。
Mr. Smith asked me various questions about his going to Japan for study.
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何について調べているんですか。
What are you investigating?
に対して/対する ni shite suru
Toward / in regard to / whereas
Toward; to; in contrast to; whereas; in regard to; in; per | Regarding something/someone one opposes, compares, or shows interest in regarding something/someone one opposes, compares or shows interest in.
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これまで日本は外国に対して閉鎖的な政策を取ってきた。
Up until now Japan has taken a closed policy toward foreign countries.
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その経済学者の説に{対する・対して}反論はなかった。
There wasn't a counterargument against the economist's thesis.
について and に対して/対する are both JLPT N3 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.