How to use 对…来说
对 + Person + 来说 / 一般 来说
来说 appears in frames that establish how the following comment should be understood. 对…来说 identifies a person or group whose perspective, circumstances, or interests are relevant. The comment need not report their spoken opinion; it may describe what is easy, important, or suitable for them. Put the person between 对 and 来说.
Other familiar 来说 expressions qualify the scope or style of a statement. 一般来说, for instance, presents a general tendency rather than an exceptionless rule. These frames usually come before the comment and may be separated by a pause in speech. Read the opening words with 来说 as one unit before interpreting the main claim.
Examples with pinyin and English
对我来说， 中文不容易。
For me, Chinese is not easy.
对你来说，家庭重要还是工作重要？
Is family or work more important to you?
对孩子来说，这个问题太复杂了。
This question is too complicated for kids.
一般来说，私立学校都比较贵。
Ordinarily, private schools are more expensive.
What to remember
- 对…来说 identifies a relevant perspective.
- A perspective can concern circumstances, not only opinions.
- 一般来说 introduces a general tendency.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.