Breakdown of duì tā láishuō, zài gōngyuán sànbù bǐ zài jiā shàngwǎng gèng fàngsōng.
家jiā
home
在zài
at
比bǐ
than
更gèng
even more
Questions & Answers about duì tā láishuō, zài gōngyuán sànbù bǐ zài jiā shàngwǎng gèng fàngsōng.
What does 对他来说 actually mean, and why is 来说 there?
对他来说 literally is something like “speaking from his side / from his point of view”.
Functionally, it means “for him / as far as he is concerned / in his opinion”.
- 对 = to, toward, with regard to
- 他 = him
- 来说 = literally “to speak (about it)” but here it has become a fixed expression meaning “from the perspective of …”
So 对他来说，在公园散步比在家上网更放松。 ≈ “For him, walking in the park is more relaxing than surfing the internet at home.”
Can I just say 对他 instead of 对他来说? What’s the difference?
Sometimes you can, but they’re not always interchangeable.
对他 often means “toward him / to him / for him (in an objective sense)”
- e.g. 我对他很好。 = “I’m nice to him.”
- e.g. 这个工作对他很重要。 = “This job is important to him.”
对他来说 usually means “from his point of view / in his opinion”
- e.g. 对他来说，这个问题不重要。 = “From his point of view, this issue isn’t important.”
In your sentence, we’re talking about his personal feeling about what’s more relaxing, so 对他来说 is the natural choice.
✗ 对他，在公园散步比在家上网更放松。 sounds incomplete and a bit wrong.
You really want 对他来说 here.
Where can I put 对他来说 in the sentence? Does it have to be at the start?