「私にしては日本語の勉強がんばってるよ。」
=Watashi ni shite wa nihongo no benkyou ganbatteru yo.
= I have been studying Japanese really hard — well, really hard for me.
Hi everyone! I am Cece. Nice to meet you!
My mom is using this site to study Japanese.
犬がやっているにしては悪くないですね。
= Inu ga yatte iru ni shite wa waruku nai desu ne.
= I would say it is not so bad considering this site is run by a dog.
So I’ll volunteer to be your guest teacher today.
I will teach you how to use にしては ( = ni shite wa) along with わりに(は) ( = wari ni (wa))
★How to use にしては (= ni shite wa)
☆How to form:
1) noun + にしては ( = ni shite wa)
Ex. 子供 ( = kodomo), a child + にして は ( = ni shite wa)
子供にしては ( = kodomo ni shite wa)
* noun + の ( = no) + わりに (は) ＊ ( = warini (wa)) ＊割に (は)
Ex. 子供 ( = kodomo), a child + の+ わりに（は） ( = wari ni (wa))
子供のわりに（は）( = kodomo no wari ni (wa))
☆How to use:
Aにしては～
= A ni shite wa
= For A
Aのわりに(は)
= A no wari ni (wa)
= For A
★ The difference between にしては ( = ni shite wa) and わりに(は) ( = wari ni wa) (1)
This pattern is used when you want to describe something/someone that is behaving in an unexpected way or different from the usual state or how you think it is supposed to be.
It could be both negative and positive.
The word which comes before にしては ( = ni shitewa) should give the speaker and listener some specific or typical idea of the quality.
For this reason you can’t use general nouns unless you give specifics about that noun.
For example,
Ex. 彼は年のわりに元気だ。
= Kare wa toshi no wari ni genki da.
= He is in good shape for his age.
年 ( = toshi) ／年齢 ( = nenrei ) means “age” but it’s not specific. It could be: old, young,etc.so you can’t use にしては ( = ni shitewa) .
But if you use a concrete age, you can use にしては ( = ni shitewa) .
Ex. 彼は ６０歳 にしては元気だ。
= Kare wa rokujussai ni shite wa genki da.
= He is in a good shape for 60 yeas old.
Ex. 彼は ６０歳のわりに元気だ。
= Kare wa rokujussai no wari ni genki da.
= He is in a good shape for 60 yeas old.
**
As long as the word which comes before gives some concrete idea of the quality or degree, にしては (=ni shitewa ) is replaceable with わりに(は) (= warini (wa) )
(I’ll indicate these with an *)
Note: わりに(= warini) ／わりには(=warini wa)
When you emphasize the word which comes before, add は ( = wa)
Children are generally thought to be weaker than adults. So if you see a child that is comparatively strong, you would say:
Ex. 子供にしては力があるね。*
= Kodomo ni shite wa chikara ga arune.
= He/She is strong for a child.
Note: The meaning is similar to 子供なのに (= kodomo nanoni) Even though he/she is a child
You don’t want to use this expression for someone superior to you.
***
You think January in Japan is cold. / January is expected to be cold.
Ex. １月は寒い。
= Ichigatsu wa samui
= January is cold / It is cold in January.
But if you found it warm for January, you would say:
Ex. １月にしては暖かい。*
= Ichigatsu ni shite wa atatakai.
= It is warm for January.
***
Ex. 春にしては蒸し暑い。*
= Haru ni shite wa mushiatsui.
= It is muggy for spring.
***
Also the word which comes before にしては ( = ni shite wa) often used with “numbers / amount / age / price”
When you see a child who is bigger than the standard 10-year old child:
Ex. １０歳にしては大きいね。*
= Jussai ni shite wa ookii ne.
= He/She is big for ten years old.
**
Ex. このホテル、１泊６千円にしてはいいね。*
= Kono hoteru, ippaku rokusen en ni shite wa iine.
= This hotel is good for 6,000 yen per night.
Ex.彼らは、プロの歌手にしては歌が下手だ。*
= Karera wa, puro no kashu ni shite wa uta ga heta da.
= They don’t sing very well for professional singers.
Ex. 日曜日にしては道がすいている。*
= Nichiyoubi ni shitewa michi ga suite iru.
= There is not much traffic for Sunday.
Ex. ４級にしては問題が難しかった。*
= Yonkyuu ni shite wa mondai ga muzukashikatta.
= The questions were difficult for 4th level.
Ex. 子供にしては字が上手だね。*
= Kodomo ni shite wa ji ga jouzu dane.
= He/She has good penmanship for a child.
Ex. アニメ好きにしてはアニソン何にもしらないね。*
= Animezuki ni shitewa anison nannimo shiranai ne.
= You don’t know much anime songs for an anime lover.
From picture above
「私にしては最近、日本語がんばってるよ。」
=Watashi ni shite wa saikin, nihongo ganbatteru yo.
= I have been studying Japanese really hard — well, really hard for me.
Note:1) がんばってる ( = ganbatteru) is a casual contraction of がんばっている( = ganbatte iru)
In this sentence, I used にしては (= ni shite wa) because I see myself objectively.
First pronoun + にしては (= ni shite wa) 〜
But you don’t usually use にしては ( ni shite wa) in the following form.
X 私は、〜にしては〜
= Watashi wa ~ ni shite wa ~
= I am / I am not / I do/ don’t do something ~ as ~
Ex. マギー先生は、日本語の先生にしては漢字をよく忘れるね。*
= Maggie sensei wa, nihongo no sensei ni shite wa kanji wo yoku wasureru ne.
= You tend to forget kanji a lot for a Japanese teacher, Maggie sensei.
:u:
X 私は日本語の先生にしては漢字をよく忘れる。 （Not natural)
= Watashi wa nihongo no sensei ni shitewa kanji wo yoku wasureru
:u: You say
Ex. 私は日本語の先生なのに漢字をよく忘れる。
= Watashi wa nihongo no sensei nanoni kanji wo yoku wasureru.
= Though I am a Japanese teacher, I often tend to forget kanji.
Past tense: noun + だった（ = datta) + にしては ( = ni shite wa)
Ex. 彼は元プロレスラーだったにしては臆病だ。*
= Kare wa moto puroresuraa datta ni shite wa okubyou da.
= He is coward for an ex-professional wrestler.
2) verb (present/present progressive/past/ past progressive) + にしては ( = ni shite wa) : Considering ~
する(=suru) do, will do/ している (= shiteiru) is/are doing, has been doing / した (= shita) did, has done/ していた (= shiteita) was doing/ did/ had been doing + にしては (= ni shite wa)
☆ How to use: Considering ~
Expressing the contradicted fact from what you have expected.
Considering the fact you know, something/someone is not what the way you have expected.
It could be both negative or positive.
Again you can replace にしては ( = ni shitewa) with わりには ( = wari niwa) *
Ex. 掃除したにしては部屋が汚いね。*
= Souji shita ni shite wa heya ga kitanai ne.
= Considering you cleaned the room, it is dirty, isn’t it?
Ex. まだ日本語を始めて１ヶ月にしては日本語が上手ですね。*
= Mada nihongo wo hajimete ikkagetsu ni shite wa nihongo ga jouzu desune.
= Your Japanese is pretty good considering you have just started to learn a month ago.
Ex. ３時間しか寝ていないにしては元気だね。*
= Sanjikan shika nete inai ni shite wa genki dane.
= You look pretty energetic considering you have only slept for three hours.
Ex. ダイエットをしているにしてはよく食べるね。*
= Daietto wo shiteiru ni shite wa yoku taberu ne.
= You eat a lot for someone on a diet.
***
★ The difference between にしては (= ni shite wa) and わりに(は) (= no wari ni (wa)) (2)
You can’t use にしては ( = ni shitewa) with adjectives but you use わりに（は (= no wari ni (wa)) with adjectives.
★ adjective + わりに(は) ( = warini (wa))
* i-adjective
Ex. 安い ( = yasui) + わりに(は) ( = warini (wa))
* na-adjective
Ex. 元気な (= genki na) + わりに(は) ( = warini (wa) )
Ex.この寿司は 高いわりにまずい。
= Kono sushi wa takai wari ni mazui.
= This sushi is bad for the price.
Ex. 彼女は、彼がきらいなわりにいつも彼のことを楽しそうに話している。
＝ Kanojo wa, kare ga kirai na wari ni itsumo kare no koto wo tanoshisou ni hanashite iru.
= Even though she doesn’t like him, she always talks about him.
boucingheart! Colloquial ways to say にしては ( = ni shitewa) and のわりには ( = no warini wa)
* にしては ( = ni shitewa)
（casual contraction) にしちゃ (= ni shicha)
* のわりに(は) ( = no warini (wa) )
のわりにゃ( = no warinya) / のわりにゃあ ( = no warinyaa)
For you, that’s a pretty good job, Maggie. / Maggie did a good job for someone like her.
:u:
* マギーにしてはよくがんばったね。
~ Maggie ni shitewa yoku ganbatta ne.
:u:
* マギーにしちゃよくがんばったね。
＝Maggie ni shicha yoku ganbatta ne.
* マギーのわりにはよくがんばったね。
= Maggie no wari niwa yoku ganbatta ne.
:u:
* マギーのわりにゃよくがんばったね。
= Maggie no wari nya yoku ganbatta ne.
マギー先生より = Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei
Cece先生ありがとう！
= Cece Sensei arigatou!
= Thank you Cece Sensei.
私も天使のわりにはがんばってるよね。
= Watashi mo tenshi no wari niwa ganbatteru yone.
= I am working hard for an angel, huh?
***
Could you be my Patron?
I appreciate your support! サポートありがとう！
50 Comments
Hi, Maggie!
First of all, thank you very much for the lesson. It was incredibly helpful. ^^
About にしては, apart from what it was explained in the lesson, my textbook says it can also appear in the form それにしては. However, I’m having a hard time trying to find helpful examples taken from real and daily-life Japanese that show me how is それにしては used. The very few ones I could find were kind of stiff sentences that, although they show the idea of the meaning of それにしては at some extent, they were a bit artificial. So, if you could please give me some examples of how それにしては is used in daily life, I’d appreciate a lot.
Anyway, thanks a lot again for the lesson!
Hi Natalie
First, thank you for your kind message.
You state something first. (Or someone states something)
You use それにしては ( = even so, in spite of, although) when you hear/see something is different from your expectation.
今日は、平日だけど、それにしては人が多いね。
The speaker thinks there are fewer people on weekdays
→Though it’s a weekday, there are unexpectedly many people today.
毎日、がんばって節電しているが、それにしては電気代が高い。
The speaker had expected lower electric bill because they have been saving electricity.
I have been trying to save electricity but still electric bill is high.
A: 「👨のうちはお金持ちなんだって」
= I heard 👨’s family is rich.
B: 「それにしては毎日、コンビニで安いパンばかり買っているよ。」
= But he buys cheap bread at a convenience store every day.
B thinks if 👨 is rich, he wouldn’t buy cheap bread every day at a convenience store. (Different from B’s expectation)
A: 「一度も海外に行ったことがありません。」
= I have never been abroad
B: 「それにしては英語がうまいね。」
= But your English is great.
B thinks if A has never been abroad, A’s English skill is so-so.
Hi again, Maggie!
Thank you very much for answering me and for your examples and explanations! They have been super helpful in order to understand better the usage of それにしては. ^^
I appreciate a lot your help. 😊
よかった〜 :)
Hello Maggie Sensei,
I hope you are doing well! This lesson was wonderful as always!
I just have a question about 割と.
I know you already mentioned this in the comments but I still do not understand when it is not permissible to use 割と instead of 割に.
Thanks in advance!
Hello again FluffyBooks,
I hope you are genki as well! :)
OK, so you read my reply to Joel in the comment section explaining the difference between 割に and 割と
As I explained there, you can use 割と in the meaning of “relatively・fairly・rather” instead of 割に and 割と is more conversational.
割に/割ときれいだ
割に/割と難しい
It will be easier for you to think, you can not use 割と instead of 割に other than that usage.
As you have seen in this lesson ~にしては/~の割に
Even though / Considering/For ~ something contradicted/unexpected
子供のわりに大人っぽい （Xわりと）・６０歳のわりに（Xわりと）
Hello Maggie Sensei,
I was reading your post while trying to figure out the meaning of 〜にとしては from something I was reading (and trying to make sense of) by 無古田邦子.
It reads as follows…
母の改まった辞儀はこれが二度目である。
二年前、私は妹をお供につけて母に五泊六日の香港旅行に行ってもらった。「死ん だお父さんに怒られう」とか「冥利が悪い」と抵抗したが、もともとおししいもの好きで、 *年にしては* 好奇心も旺盛な人だから、追い出してさえしまえばあとは喜ぶと判っていたので、けんか腰の出発だった。
You state that “年 ( = toshi) ／年齢 ( = nenrei ) means “age” but it’s not specific. It could be: old, young,etc.so you can’t use にしては ( = ni shitewa) .”
Now I’m lost with that passage and I am struggling understanding it.
May you please help me and bring some enlightenment to my life??!!! PLEASE :)
Hello Angel
You can judge the meaning in the context.
「死んだお父さんに怒られる」とか「冥利が悪い」と抵抗したが、— the person who say these is the writer’s mother.
年にしては* 好奇心も旺盛な人だから
You don’t say 子供にしては・子供のわりに好奇心が旺盛である because it is common to be curious about many things when you are a child or young.
So in this case the writer think her mother’s age is not young (=old)
She had a great deal of curiosity for her age /She had a great deal of curiosity regardless of her age. = She is not young but she is curious about many things.
Hello,
Can you explain the difference between 割に and 割と?
Hello Joel,
You can use them both when you want to say “relatively”,
They mean the same but 割と わりと is much more conversational.
息子の部屋は割に(わりに)きれいだ。
→息子の部屋わ割と(わりと)きれいだ。(more conversational)
息子のは割に(わりに)部屋をきれいにしていた。
→息子は割と(わりと)部屋をきれいにしていた。(more conversational)
However, you don’t use 割と
verb + 割に(わりに)
adj + 割に(わりに)
noun + 割に(わりに)
勉強した割に(わりに)は成績が悪い。（X 割と(わりと)）
彼は年の割に(わりに)元気だ。（X 割と(わりと)）
この寿司は 高い割に(わりに)まずい。（X 割と(わりと)）
Hello, Maggie sensei !
Recently, I read the sentence “人間は魔神に滅ぼされるかに見えた”
However, I can’t seem to find anything about the use and meaning of かに
Could you please help me ?
Hi ピエル
人間は魔神に滅ぼされるかのように見えた →You skip のよう→かに見えた
You use か to express one’s emotion, doubt, uncertain feelings, question,surprised feelings, etc.
Sorry, answered the wrong comment, so I’m putting this one again
So in this case, かのように was reduced to かに ?
When you say doubt in this case, かのように would mean “as if”, meanwhile のように would just mean like ?
ありがとうございます
That’s right. You got the idea! :)
Sensei,
One more question is the possibility of using わりには for myself.
にしては can not used in the case
X 私は２０歳にしてはなんでもよく知っている。(Not natural)
How about わりには？ Is it possible to say
私は年のわりには元気です。
私は年のわりには元気です。
Yes, you can say that but I would say 私は年のわりに元気だと思う。
So in this case, かのように was reduced to かに ?
When you say doubt in this case, かのように would mean “as if”, meanwhile のように would just mean like ?
ありがとうございます!
Maggie sensei,
Thank you for the lesson.
So, わりにはcan be used for general noun which we can not tell the concrete quality of that noun, for example 年、年齢、etc
Does it mean
If I want to tell “Though she is young 『regardless of age), she is so knowledgeable” 、then I will say
“年の割りにはよく知っている。(case 1)
And if I want to say “Though she is old (regardless of age), she is genki”, I can also use “年のわりには,元気だ” (case 2)
年のわりには can be both young and old
But for にしては、it should be concrete, young or old specificly
Is my understanding correct, sensei?
Hello!
Yes! You understand the difference very well. :)
先生のおかげで、その違いがわかる。
ありがとうございます！
よかった！😊
Hi Maggie-sensei,
I am just a tiny bit confused about one thing.
彼は年のわりに元気だ。
We cannot use にしては for the above sentence, right? Because as you said it’s not specific. It could be: old, young,etc.so you can’t use にしては ( = ni shitewa) .
But for this nexe sentence, how come you could use にしては?
私にしては最近、日本語がんばってるよ。
Hi Dennis, 元気？
How come you could use にしては?
私にしては最近、日本語がんばってるよ。
As I explained in the lesson,
The word which comes before にしては ( = ni shitewa) should give the speaker and listener some specific or typical idea of the quality.
For this reason you can’t use general nouns unless you give specifics about that noun.
私にしては
→The speaker knows well about him/herself so has specific idea. We can assume that the speaker tends to give up on something or not a hard worker.
Hi Maggie-sensei, 病気になりました。
I understand that since the speaker knows well about himself, he can say 私にしては.
But I assume that the listener also needs to have some idea of the speaker’s character?
Along this line… would it be correct to use にしては after any noun, as long as both the speaker and the listener has some knowledge of that noun? For example:
彼の車にしては、速かった。
For his car, that was fast. (Both the speaker and listner knows well about the car)
彼の料理にしては、まずい。
For his cooking, that was bad. (They both know his cooking is normally good)
Hi Dennis
病気になりました You got sick??? If so, I hope you feel better soon.
私にしては: If you are talking to your friend or family, it is possible that the listener know the speaker’s personality but actually the speaker could be just talking to him/herself or write about him/herself.
The listeners/readers can assume the speaker/writer’s personality by the state.
The same thing you can tell by
彼の車にしては、速かった。
彼の料理にしては、まずい。
They are the speaker/writer’s opinion. The listener/reader can just assume “his car must be slow/his cooking is usually good but not this time.”
I am getting better! にんじんは病気を治るのためにはすごいね！
I wonder given what you said above… would it be correct to say this sentence (if both the speaker and listener know the age)?
彼は年にしては元気だ
I’m glad to hear you feel better. (→にんじんは病気を直すためにいいね）
If both the speaker know the age, he/she says ~ 歳にしては元気だ。
The word 年 itself doesn’t give any idea how old they are. (Besides the expression. Subject はもう年だ = Subject is old)
If you specify more, it is possible to use 年
For example その年にしては元気だ (for that age)
Thanks very much Maggie, I think I understand it now!
Good! :)
Would it sound natural to say「初めてにしては(or わりに)あなたの作ったカツ丼がずいぶんおいしかったよ」? (“For your first time, the katsudon you made was really delicious”)
@tempura
→OK but need to fix a few minor things.
初めてにしては(or 初めて”の”わりに)あなたの作ったカツ丼”は”ずいぶんおいしかったよ
下のコメント*
新しいコメンとか下に現れたと思った (^^;)
@Orti
こんにちは！ひさしぶりにコメントくれましたね。
いっぱい練習して使ってみてね。:)
(→少しだけもう少し自然に直しますね。：二日前に読んだわりにはもう何度も使っている・います）
いつも訂正してくれてありがとうございます、先生!!
@Orti
Ortiのためならいつでもお手伝いしますよ。:)
こんな表現はよく使って、めっちゃ便利なレッスンだよ！
いままで上のコメントのような”-ても”と”-なのに”しか使えなかったけれども、時々本当に言いたかったことと感じはちょっと違ったね。実は、このレッスンをただ二日間前に読んだのわりにもう何度も使ったことある(笑)
勉強になった！ありがとうございまーす、先生！
良い日を過ごしてね！
yoku ganbatta ne is “i proud of you?
@Kaede
Yes, it means “You did a good job/You did great” and it has a feeling of “I am proud of you!”
勉強になるレッスンをありがとうございます。
マギーにしては綴りの間違いが少ないんですよ。お見事。多分、つめを切ったのかなあ。 !JYANE!
“Watashi wa nihongo no sensei ni shitewa kannji wo yoku wasureru.”
“kanji”
そういえば、”わりに”は、漢字とかなは、どちらのほうが確立された書き方ですか。
@Zetsuboumanadeshi
ほんと？一つしか間違えていなかった？奇跡ですね。
やっぱり爪は切らないといけませんね。
「割に」：今、Googleでもチェックしてみましたが、漢字で使う方が多いです。
「にしては」のレッスンを待っていましたよ。ワクワクしてます~
ひとつが気になりましたけど
どうして「私にしては最近、日本語がんばってるよ。」は言えますけど、「私は日本語の先生にしては漢字をよく忘れる。」は不自然ですか？
I’m not sure what you mean by seeing yourself objectively in the first sentence. What makes the second sentence subjective compared to the first one?
@ Marianne
こんにちは！
質問のところですが、あとからみんなから質問くるかなあって思っていました。
★私にしては〜 is OK
Ex. 私にしては +(Ex, よくやった・がんばった・続いている）
★私は、〜にしては is not natural.
Ex. 彼は２０歳にしてはなんでもよく知っている。
X 私は２０歳にしてはなんでもよく知っている。(Not natural)
説明ありがとうございました！そうだとって思っていましたけど確認したかったです
One more thing; does 「質問のところですが、あとからみんなから質問くるかなあって思っていました。」 mean something like “Although I’m already getting questions, I thought people would start asking them later.”?
Sorry for my silly reading comprehension ^^;
＠Marianne
直訳すると、こんな感じですよ。
As for your question (= the part you have asked me), I thought someone might have asked me later.
Thank you so much Maggie sensei^^
Have a nice day !ohisama!
@Marianne
どういたしまして！Marianneもいい日を過ごしてね。:)
Yay, a new lesson! This one is very good. Thanks for another great lesson. Question: Is this form interchangeable with ても?
Like is 子供だっても力があるね。 okay? It sounds unnatural to me, but I thought I should ask anyway.
＠reid
Hi reid,
子供だっても→子供でも力があるね
子供でも力があるね。
子供にしては力があるね。
Yes, they are very similar and the translation could be the same
To be precise,
ても・でも = even though / but
子供でも He/She is a child but / Though he/she is a child
子供にしては for a child
Oh I see. Thanks. As a follow up question, would that also be true for ても・でも and なのに?
子供でも力があるね。 is interchangeable with 子供なのに力があるね。?
Thanks again!
@red
They mean the same.
子供でも力があるね。
子供なのに力があるね。
I would say なのに sounds slightly stronger.