English lets one preposition — about, toward, regarding — do a lot of quiet work, and learners often reach for whichever Japanese equivalent they met first. But Japanese splits this territory along a sharp line: について and に関して mark the topic of discussion or thought ("what is being talked about"), while に対して marks the target of an attitude, action, or contrast ("toward whom / against what"). Blur that line and 先生（せんせい）について話す ("talk about the teacher") turns into 先生に対して話す ("speak to / at the teacher") — a different situation entirely. This page nails down the topic-versus-target split.
All three are compound particles: a noun-modifier built on に plus a verb (付く, 関する, 対する). They attach to a noun and then govern the rest of the clause, and each has an attributive form (についての N, に関する N, に対する N) for modifying nouns directly.
について — "about, concerning" (the everyday topic marker)
について is the default way to say "about / concerning." It marks the subject matter of talking, thinking, writing, researching, or asking. It is register-neutral and heard constantly in conversation.
今日は環境問題について話し合いましょう。
kyō wa kankyō mondai ni tsuite hanashiaimashō
Today let's discuss environmental problems.
日本の歴史について研究しています。
nihon no rekishi ni tsuite kenkyū shite imasu
I'm doing research on Japanese history.
その件については、後でメールで説明します。
sono ken ni tsuite wa, ato de mēru de setsumei shimasu
As for that matter, I'll explain it by email later.
The test for について: could you replace "about X" with "on the subject of X"? If yes, it's について. The noun is the content of the discussion, not something being acted upon.
に関して — "regarding, in relation to" (formal, wider net)
に関して covers nearly the same ground as について but is more formal and casts a slightly wider net — "in connection with," "as it relates to," including surrounding matters, not just the core topic. It belongs to written and business registers; in casual speech について is far more natural.
この事件に関して、警察はまだ何も発表していない。
kono jiken ni kanshite, keisatsu wa mada nani mo happyō shite inai
Regarding this incident, the police have not yet announced anything.
契約に関するご質問は、こちらの窓口までお願いします。
keiyaku ni kansuru go-shitsumon wa, kochira no madoguchi made onegai shimasu
For any questions regarding the contract, please come to this counter.
Notice the attributive に関する (契約に関する質問 = "questions regarding the contract"). This modifier form is extremely common in formal writing — headings, legal text, official notices.
に対して — "toward, against, in response to, in contrast to"
に対して is the odd one out — and the source of most errors. It does not mark a topic. It marks a target that the main clause is directed at: the person you show an attitude toward, the thing you respond to, or the item you set something in contrast with. There is always a sense of directionality — an arrow pointing from the action to the noun.
An attitude or manner directed at someone
店員はお客様に対して、いつも丁寧に対応する。
ten'in wa okyakusama ni taishite, itsumo teinei ni taiō suru
The clerks always deal with customers politely.
先生に対してそんな口をきくなんて、失礼だよ。
sensei ni taishite sonna kuchi o kiku nante, shitsurei da yo
Talking to a teacher like that is rude.
Here お客様 and 先生 are not what is being discussed — they are the recipients of politeness or rudeness. Swap in について and the meaning breaks.
A response or reaction to something
彼は私の質問に対して、丁寧に答えてくれた。
kare wa watashi no shitsumon ni taishite, teinei ni kotaete kureta
He answered my question politely.
値上げに対して、多くの市民が抗議した。
neage ni taishite, ōku no shimin ga kōgi shita
Many citizens protested against the price hike.
The question is what is answered; the price hike is what is protested against — targets of a reaction, not topics.
Contrast — "whereas, in contrast to"
に対して also links two clauses in explicit contrast, "X, whereas Y":
兄は社交的だ。それに対して、弟は人見知りをする。
ani wa shakōteki da. sore ni taishite, otōto wa hitomishiri o suru
My older brother is outgoing; my younger brother, by contrast, is shy.
Proportion — "per"
And it marks a ratio: X に対して Y = "Y per X":
参加者一人に対して、資料を二部ずつ配ってください。
sankasha hitori ni taishite, shiryō o nibu zutsu kubatte kudasai
Please hand out two copies of the materials per participant.
The topic/target split, side by side
The whole page reduces to one contrast. Put the same noun with について and に対して and the difference in role is unmistakable:
| Sentence | Role of the noun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先生について話す | topic | talk about the teacher |
| 先生に対して失礼な態度を取る | target | be rude toward the teacher |
| その意見について考える | topic | think about that opinion |
| その意見に対して反論する | target | argue against that opinion |
Attributive forms — modifying a noun
When these phrases modify a following noun, each takes a fixed attributive shape:
| Verbal use | Attributive (+ noun) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 環境について | 環境についての | 環境についての本 (a book about the environment) |
| 環境に関して | 環境に関する | 環境に関する法律 (a law regarding the environment) |
| 環境に対して | 環境に対する | 環境に対する意識 (awareness toward the environment) |
Note that について takes の (についての本) while に関して and に対して take the verb-derived -する modifier (に関する, に対する). This mismatch trips up learners who expect a single pattern.
Common Mistakes
❌ 日本の文化に対して勉強しています。
Incorrect if you mean 'study about Japanese culture' — に対して needs a directed target.
✅ 日本の文化について勉強しています。
nihon no bunka ni tsuite benkyō shite imasu
I'm studying about Japanese culture.
The single most common error: using に対して for a neutral topic. Studying, discussing, and researching take について — you are not aiming an attitude at the culture, you are learning about it.
❌ お客様について丁寧に話す。
Incorrect for 'speak politely to customers' — this means 'talk about the customers.'
✅ お客様に対して丁寧に話す。
okyakusama ni taishite teinei ni hanasu
Speak politely toward customers.
Politeness is aimed at someone — that's a target, so に対して. With について it would mean gossiping about the customers.
❌ 環境について本を読んだ。
Incorrect — the attributive の is missing before 本.
✅ 環境についての本を読んだ。
kankyō ni tsuite no hon o yonda
I read a book about the environment.
To modify a noun, について must become についての. Bare について cannot sit directly in front of a noun.
❌ 友達とのチャットで「その件に関して了解」と書く。
Not wrong, but に関して sounds oddly stiff in a casual chat.
✅ 友達とのチャットで「その件については了解」と書く。
tomodachi to no chatto de 'sono ken ni tsuite wa ryōkai' to kaku
In a chat with a friend, write 'got it about that matter.'
に関して is formal. In casual messages it reads like a memo from HR; について (or just のこと) is the natural choice.
❌ 質問について答える。(丁寧に応じる意味で)
Subtly off — 'answer about the question' means discuss it, not respond to it.
✅ 質問に対して答える。
shitsumon ni taishite kotaeru
Answer (respond to) the question.
Answering is responding, so the question is a target: 質問に対して答える. 質問について答える would mean giving an account about the question rather than replying to it.
Key Takeaways
- について / に関して mark the topic — what is discussed, thought, or written about. に関して is the formal, wider-net version; について is everyday.
- に対して marks the target — the recipient of an attitude (お客様に対して), the thing responded to (質問に対して), a contrast (それに対して), or a ratio (一人に対して二部).
- Decide by role: talking/thinking about it → について; aiming an action or attitude at it → に対して.
- Attributive forms differ: についての, に関する, に対する — don't force one pattern onto all three.
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- として・にとって: As, For (From the Standpoint Of)N3 — として assigns a role or capacity ('as a doctor', 'as a joke'); にとって assigns a viewpoint ('important to me', 'hard for students') — the role-versus-perspective split behind English 'as' and 'for'.
- によって・による: By, Due To, Depending OnN3 — One compound particle for four jobs — the agent of a formal passive, the means of an action, the cause of an event, and the everyday 'it varies depending on X' (人によって, 場合による).
- によると・によれば: According To (Source)N3 — How によると／によれば cites the source of reported information and opens a frame that the clause must close with a hearsay marker such as そうだ, らしい, or ということだ.
- Connecting Clauses & Sentences: OverviewN5 — Japanese joins ideas two structurally different ways — clause connectors that cling to the end of a clause mid-sentence (から, ので, が, し) and sentence-initial conjunctions that open a fresh utterance (だから, でも, そして) — and many meanings have a DIFFERENT word for each slot, so the whole group hinges on knowing which slot a connector fills.