Breakdown of shakai nitotte byoudou wa taisetsu da to omoimasu.
Questions & Answers about shakai nitotte byoudou wa taisetsu da to omoimasu.
にとって means “for ~ / from the standpoint of ~ / as far as ~ is concerned.”
So 社会にとって = “for society / from society’s point of view.”
You use にとって when you want to say something is important, necessary, good, bad, etc. for someone or something:
- 私にとって日本語は難しいです。
→ Japanese is difficult for me. - 子どもにとって運動は大切です。
→ Exercise is important for children.
In the sentence 社会にとって平等は大切だと思います, it is saying:
Equality is important for society (from society’s perspective).
は marks 平等 (equality) as the topic – what we’re talking about.
- 平等は大切だと思います。
→ As for equality, (I) think it is important.
If you used が (平等が大切だと思います), the nuance changes slightly:
- 平等が大切だと思います。
→ (I) think equality is what is important.
(It can feel a bit more like you’re choosing equality among other possibilities.)
With 社会にとって平等は大切だと思います:
- 平等は: we are talking about equality in general (topic).
- 大切だと思います: (I) think it is important (for society).
は is very natural here because the sentence is making a general statement about equality.
大切 is a ナ‑adjective (形容動詞 / na‑adjective), not an い‑adjective.
- い‑adjective example: 大きい (big), 新しい (new)
- ナ‑adjective example: 大切, きれい, 静か
Na‑adjectives behave like nouns and need the copula だ／です when they are used as a predicate:
- 平等は大切だ。 (plain)
- 平等は大切です。 (polite)
You can think:
- 大切 ≈ “important, precious” (adjectival meaning)
- Grammar-wise, it’s 大切 + だ/です that forms “is important”.
Before と思います, you use the plain (dictionary) form of the verb/adjective/noun clause you are “quoting” with と.
The structure is:
[plain form clause] + と + 思います
Examples:
- 高いと思います。 (い‑adjective, plain: 高い)
- 便利だと思います。 (ナ‑adjective, plain: 便利だ)
- 学生だと思います。 (noun, plain: 学生だ)
So for 大切 (a ナ‑adjective), the plain form is 大切だ, and you get:
- 大切だと思います。
You cannot say 大切ですと思います.
です never goes directly before と in this pattern; you must use だ (or nothing if grammar allows) as the plain form.
For ナ‑adjectives and nouns, だ is generally required before と思います.
- ✅ 静かだと思います。
- ❌ 静かと思います。 (unnatural)
So:
- ✅ 平等は大切だと思います。
- ❌ 平等は大切と思います。
In casual speech, people sometimes drop だ in some fast or informal patterns, but the safe, standard form (especially in writing or formal speech) is ナ‑adjective/noun + だと思います.
と思います literally is “(I) think that ~”, but in Japanese it also:
States your opinion:
- 平等は大切だと思います。
→ I think equality is important.
- 平等は大切だと思います。
Softens the statement, making it less direct or less absolute.
Without it, 平等は大切です。 sounds like a firmer, more objective statement:
“Equality is important (fact).”
With と思います, it’s more like: “In my view, equality is important.”
In conversation, と思います is often used as a polite way to present opinions, not just “I guess” but also “in my opinion (politely)”.
In Japanese, the subject is often omitted when it is clear from context.
With 思います, the omitted subject is usually “I” (the speaker) unless context clearly indicates otherwise.
So:
- 社会にとって平等は大切だと思います。
Literally: “(I) think that equality is important for society.”
Japanese doesn’t need to say 私 every time; 私 is only included when you need to clarify or emphasize the subject:
- 私は、社会にとって平等は大切だと思います。
→ I (as opposed to others) think equality is important for society.
Yes, that’s grammatically correct, and very natural:
- 社会にとって平等は大切だと思います。
- 平等は社会にとって大切だと思います。
Both mean essentially the same thing.
Japanese word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbial phrases like 社会にとって. The differences are mainly in focus and flow:
- 社会にとって平等は…
- Slightly emphasizes “for society” first, then introduces equality.
- 平等は社会にとって…
- Brings equality up first as the topic, then adds “for society” information.
In everyday conversation, either order is fine.
You can say 社会は平等が大切だと思います, and it’s grammatically okay, but the nuance changes.
社会にとって平等は大切だと思います。
→ “I think equality is important for society / from society’s standpoint.”社会は平等が大切だと思います。
→ “As for society, I think equality is important.”
(More like: society thinks that equality is important, or society’s characteristic is that equality is important.)
にとって specifically expresses “for / to / from the point of view of”, which is closer to the intended nuance of “for society.”
社会は… tends to make 社会 (society) the topic/subject, which can suggest society itself is the “thinker” or that this is a property of society.
Casual version:
- 社会にとって平等は大切だと思う。
Changes:
- 思います → 思う (plain form, casual)
- Everything else stays the same.
Even more casual (depending on context and personality):
- 社会にとって平等って大切だと思う。
(Using って as a casual topic marker instead of は.)
But the basic, neutral casual form is 大切だと思う.
All three can often be translated as “important”, but they have slightly different feels:
大切
- Often has a sense of preciousness / being valued / emotionally important.
- Natural in personal, ethical, or human contexts.
- 社会にとって平等は大切だと思います。
→ Equality is (morally/ideally) important for society.
大事
- Very close to 大切; also “important / serious / valuable”.
- Sometimes a bit more colloquial; often used in speech.
- 社会にとって平等は大事だと思います。
→ Also fine; very similar nuance.
重要
- More formal, academic, or technical: “significant, of great importance.”
- Common in essays, reports, news, etc.
- 社会にとって平等は重要だと思います。
→ Sounds more formal/analytical: “Equality is of importance for society.”
In everyday spoken Japanese, 大切 or 大事 feels the most natural in this kind of sentence.