All four are used when you judge, evaluate or guess things from a certain position, viewpoint, or basis, to connect ” the position, viewpoint, or basis” with “judgment, evaluation, or guess”.
They have similar meanings, but in some cases, they are not interchangeable. Let’s take a look at the meanings and concepts one by one.
～(N) にとって
Base verb: 取る (とる / “to take”)
Translation: to / for
Aにとって、(Sは) Bだ。
“To A, (S [subject] is) B.”
It is used to refer to how the person A feels about S. B is an impression or evaluation.
*Note that you cannot put 「好き」(“like”), 「嫌い」(“dislike”), 「賛成」(“agree”), or 「反対」(“disagree”) in B.
A is mainly people, and sometimes body parts. B can be a noun or adjective.
| people | 私 (I), 子供 (children), 日本人 (Japanese people), etc |
| body parts | 肌 (skin), 髪 (hair), 腎臓 (kidney), etc. |
私にとって彼はとても大切な人だ。
“To me, he is a very important person.”
夜更かしは肌にとって悪いです。
“Staying up late is bad for the skin.”
～(N) から見ると (=から見て、から見れば)
Base verb: 見る (みる / “to see”)
*Since the base verb is “to see,” it is often used to say what the impression is from A’s point of view.
Translation: from the point of view of; judging from
1. “from the point of view of”
Aから見ると、(Sは)Bだ。
“From A‘s point of view, (S is) B.”
It is used to judge or evaluate what kind of thing or person (B) the subject (S) is when considered from a certain person’s point of view (A).
A is mainly a position or point of view. A can also be a person or an occupation. B is an impression or evaluation.
*When people are used in A, they are often preceded by a sentence that narrows down their position: 「～の私から見ると」「～な私から見ると」「～である私から見ると」(all means “from my point of view as [being] …”).
元警察官の私から見ると、彼女が嘘をついているのはバレバレだ。
“From my perspective as a former police officer, it is obvious that she is lying.”
*From the perspective of a former police officer with excellent observational skills, the speaker has the impression that her lies are obvious.
お客さんから見ると、うちの店長は良い人に見えるだろう。
“From the customer’s point of view, our store manager would appear to be a good person.”
*The speaker is talking about the impression of the manager from the point of view of the customers, who are treated with courtesy by the manager.
2. “judging from”
Aから見ると、(Sは)Bだろう / だと思う / な気がする / に違いない
“Judging from A, (S is) probably B.”
It is used when you look at a part of something (A) and evaluate or guess its overview (B).
For A an object or concept is used; for B an evaluation or guess is used.
Since “to see” is the base verb, it is used when judging B from the visual information of A. It is not used to judge by sound or smell.
For example, in the sentence below, we use「からすると」because the basis for judgment is the sound of snoring and not visual information.
“Judging from this snoring, he is sleeping soundly.”このいびきから見ると、彼は熟睡している。
→このいびきからすると、彼は熟睡している。
凶器の状態から見て、殺人事件に違いない。
“Judging from the condition of the murder weapon, it must be a murder case.”
*Based on the condition of the murder weapon (a part of the case), the speaker guessed it was a murder case, not a suicide. (He guessed so judging from the condition of the murder weapon without blood on the handle, although no autopsy was performed yet.)
彼のお金の使い方から見ると、宝くじが当たったんだと思う。
“From the way he spends his money, I think he won the lottery.”
*The speaker saw how he spent his money (a part of him) and guessed that he had won the lottery.
～(N) からすると (=からすれば)
Base verb: する ( “to do” or “to make”)
*It is a verb that omits the words “judge,” “evaluate,” and “guess” from ” to make a judgment,” “to make an evaluation,” and “to make a guess.”
Translation: from the point of view of; judging from
1. “from the point of view of”
Aから判断すると、(Sは)Bだ
“From A‘s point of view, (S is) B.”
It is used to judge or evaluate what kind of thing or person (B) the subject (S) is when considered from a certain person’s point of view (A).
A is mainly a position or point of view. A can also be a person or an occupation. B is an impression or evaluation.
日本人からすると、家の中で靴を脱がないのは不思議な感じがする。
“From the point of view of a Japanese person, it feels weird not to take off our shoes in the house.”
*The speaker found it weird that people do not take their shoes off in the house, from the point of view of Japanese people who usually take their shoes off in the house.
夫からすると、トイレットペーパーに高いお金を払うのは意味がわからないようだ。
“From my husband’s point of view, it doesn’t make sense to pay a lot of money for toilet paper.”
*Although not mentioned here, this husband is probably a budget saver, and the speaker said that from his standpoint, he feels it is ridiculous to spend money on consumables like toilet paper.
2. “judging from”
Aから推測すると、(Sは) Bだろう / だと思う / な気がする / に違いない
“Judging from A, (S is) probably B.”
It is used when you take a part of something (A) as a basis and evaluate or guess its overview (B). For A an object or concept is used; for B an evaluation or guess is used.
名前からすると、彼はベトナム人だろう。
“Judging from his name, he is probably Vietnamese.”
*The speaker guessed that he was Vietnamese, not by his face or clothing, but by his name, which was one part of him.
子供のあやし方からすると、彼には小さい妹か弟がいるんじゃないかな？
“Judging from the way he treats kids, I’m guessing he has a little sister or little brother.”
*The speaker saw how well he handled the child (a part of him) and guessed he had a little sister or brother.
からして
Aからすると、(Sは) Bだろう / だと思う / な気がする / に違いない
“Judging from A, (S is) probably B.”
からして has a similar meaning as well, but cannot be used for “from the point of view of”. It can be paraphrased only as “judging from”.
基本的なAだけを見てもBなのだから、(Sの全体像は当然)Bだ
“Even just looking at the basic A, (the full picture of S is naturally) B.”
In this case, からして means “to focus on one part of something and guess that the rest would naturally be the same”.
A is usually a small, minimal, or not-so-obvious item; B is often a negative word.
彼は爪からしてオシャレなのがわかる。
“I can tell just from his fingernails that he is fashionable.”
*The speaker sees that one small part of him, his nails, are well groomed and naturally judges his whole outfit, hair, and other aspects of his body to be fashionable.
アラビア語は文字からして難しそうだ。
“Arabic seems to be difficult just even from the letters.”
*Arabic has some difficult aspects, such as grammar and conjugation, but the speaker guesses that the whole language must be difficult when he sees only Arabic letters.
～(N)から言うと
Base verb: 言う (いう / “to say”)
*Since the base verb is “to say,” it is often used to express one’s opinion or evaluation of a certain thing.
Translation: from the point of view of; judging from; from a … perspective
1. “from the point of view of”
Aから言うと、(Sは)Bだ。
“Speaking from A‘s point of view, (S is) B.”
It is used when the speaker judges or evaluates the subject (S) and expresses an opinion (B) from a certain person’s point of view (A).
A is mainly a position or point of view. A cannot be a person or an occupation! B is an opinion or evaluation.
上司の立場から言うと、彼はまだまだ未熟です。
“From a supervisor’s point of view, he is still unskilled.”
*From the point of view of the supervisor, the boss evaluates that he is not yet skilled enough.
2. “judging from (one of the reasons); from a … perspective”
いくつかある根拠のうちAから判断すると、(Sは) Bだろう / だと思う / な気がする / に違いない
“Judging from A out of several bases, (S is) B.”
It is used when “I” evaluate or judge (B) the subject (S) from one (A) of several positions, basis, or points of view.
*“I” am the one who thinks it’s B. It cannot speak for the thoughts of others.
金銭面から言うと、子供を5人も産むことは難しいです。
“From a financial perspective, I think it is difficult to have five children.”
*There are other things to consider, such as the size of the house and my age, but I have this opinion based on my financial considerations.
面接の内容から言うと、私は鈴木さんを採用すべきだと思う。
“Based on the interviews, I think we should hire Ms. Suzuki.”
*I believe we should hire Ms. Suzuki based only on the interview, among various other factors such as resume and work experience.
Let’s sort it out!
So far, we have learned that 「AにとってB」 describes the impression of how person A feels about S (the subject). On the other hand, the other three (「～から見ると」「～からすると」「～から言うと」) have two similar meanings, “from the point of view” and “judging from. Let’s sort them out!
“from the point of view of”
Paraphrase
“From my point of view as a Japanese person, it feels weird not to take off our shoes in the house.”
- 日本人の私にとって、家の中で靴を脱がないのは不思議な感じがする。
- 日本人の私から見ると、家の中で靴を脱がないのは不思議な感じがする。
- 日本人の私からすると、家の中で靴を脱がないのは不思議な感じがする。
- 日本人の私
から言うと、家の中で靴を脱がないのは不思議な感じがする。
→You cannot use a word that describes a person or occupation before ～から言うと. Just add a concept to it like「日本人の観点から言うと」and it sounds good!
“From the doctor’s point of view, he thinks I need to exercise more.”
- 医者
にとって、私はもっと運動をしなければいけないらしい。
→The B part has to describe what kind of person the doctor feels I am from the doctor’s point of view. - 医者から見ると、私はもっと運動をしなければいけないらしい。
- 医者からすると、私はもっと運動をしなければいけないらしい。
- 医者
から言うと、私はもっと運動をしなければいけないらしい。
→You cannot use a word that describes a person or occupation before ～から言うと.
“judging from”
| Aから見るとB | AからするとB | Aから言うとB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base verb meaning | 見る (to see) | [判断、推測]する (to judge, to guess) | 言う (to say) |
| perspective | A | A | I (私) |
| A is … | visual information | anything | one of basis or evidences |
Paraphrase
“Judging from the smell, there must be a gas leak.”
- このにおい
から見るとガスが漏れているに違いない。
→Smell cannot be used because it is olfactory information and not visual information. - このにおいからするとガスが漏れているに違いない。
- このにおい△から言うと△ガスが漏れているに違いない。
→If you are talking about the smell as one of the basis for gas leak out of several abnormalities (headaches, hissing noises, smells…), it’s fine!
To paraphrase them check the following:
- Whether the evidence is visible or not
- Who is the person expressing judgment or guess?
- Is the viewpoint a person or a position or a concept?
