B1
對…來說, 對於 and 關於 — regarding
Three Chinese ways of saying “about” and “for” — whose perspective, what it is directed at, and what it is on the subject of — and where each sits in the sentence.
對…來說 — from where they stand
Whose perspective the statement is made from. It opens the sentence.
對我來說，這不難。
Duì wǒ lái shuō, zhè bù nán.
For me, this isn’t hard.
對學生來說，最重要的是練習。
Duì xuésheng lái shuō, zuì zhòngyào de shì liànxí.
For a student, the most important thing is practice.
The English for is doing a lot of work in those, and it is the for of viewpoint rather than of benefit. 我給你買 is buying something for you; 對我來說 is how it looks from here.
對 on its own — directed at
Without 來說, 對 points an attitude or an effect at something. It goes before the verb, like any other prepositional phrase.
我對中國歷史很感興趣。
Wǒ duì Zhōngguó lìshǐ hěn gǎn xìngqù.
I’m very interested in Chinese history.
抽菸對身體不好。
Chōuyān duì shēntǐ bù hǎo.
Smoking is bad for you.
對於 is the more formal version of this and behaves the same, though it cannot follow the subject as freely — 對於這個問題，我有不同的看法.
關於 — on the subject of
關於 introduces what something is about: a book, a discussion, a question.
關於這件事，我不太清楚。
Guānyú zhè jiàn shì, wǒ bú tài qīngchu.
About this matter, I’m not too sure.
這是一本關於中國歷史的書。
Zhè shì yì běn guānyú Zhōngguó lìshǐ de shū.
It’s a book about Chinese history.
Note the second one: 關於 can sit inside a noun phrase with 的, which 對 cannot.
關於我來說，這不難。
對我來說，這不難。
關於 names a topic — on the subject of me — where the sentence wants a point of view. English uses about and for almost interchangeably here and Chinese does not.
The short version
- 對…來說 — from this person’s point of view
- 對 — directed at, or affecting
- 關於 — on the subject of