对...来说
Use 对……来说 to flag whose perspective a statement is true from — 'for me,' 'as far as he's concerned,' 'from a student's point of view.' It sets up a viewpoint before the main clause delivers the opinion or judgment. Especially useful when the same fact might land differently on different people, and you want to be explicit about whose angle you're taking.
Structure
对 [PERSON/GROUP] 来说, [STATEMENT]
duì... láishuō...
How to Think About It
对……来说 is a perspective frame. Whoever sits between 对 and 来说 is the lens through which the rest of the sentence should be read — not necessarily the subject, just the viewpoint. That's why this phrase usually sits at the very front of the sentence: it tells the listener 'shift your reference point to this person before you hear what's next.' The actual statement that follows often has a completely different grammatical subject.
Examples
对我来说，学中文不难。
Duì wǒ lái shuō, xué Zhōngwén bù nán.
For me, learning Chinese isn't hard.
对孩子来说，玩比学习更重要。
Duì háizi lái shuō, wán bǐ xuéxí gèng zhòngyào.
For children, playing is more important than studying.
对一个外国人来说，找工作不容易。
Duì yí gè wàiguórén lái shuō, zhǎo gōngzuò bù róngyì.
For a foreigner, finding a job isn't easy.
Common Mistake
Learners use 对……来说 to mean 'to (a person)' in the sense of an action's recipient, confusing it with the preposition 对. 对……来说 is strictly perspective; for action recipients use plain 对 + person + verb.
对我来说，他笑了。 (intended: He smiled at me)
他对我笑了。 (He smiled at me.)
Don't Confuse With
对 + Person + Verb
Plain 对 introduces the target of an action ('he is good to me' = 他对我很好). 对……来说 introduces a viewpoint, not an action target.
关于...
关于 means 'about / regarding' the topic. 对……来说 means 'from someone's perspective.' Topic vs. viewpoint.
在...看来
在……看来 ('in someone's view') is closer in meaning but emphasizes the person's subjective opinion. 对……来说 is more neutral — what's true for them, not just what they think.
Practice
Fill in the blank: ___老人来说，用手机有点难。
Show answer
对
Fill in the blank: 对我来___，这个价格太贵了。
Show answer
说
Arrange: 对 / 来说 / 健康 / 最 / 重要 / 我
Show answer
对我来说，健康最重要。
Translate to Chinese: For students, this book is very useful.
Show answer
对学生来说，这本书很有用。
Write a sentence using 对……来说 about what's important from your perspective.
Show answer
对我来说，家人是最重要的。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 6 Fluentide episodes: