N3 Contrast, Comparison, and Concession

~にしては: meaning, usage and examples

~にしては means: for a... / considering it is... (compared with a known fact).

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 8月はちがつにしてはすずしいですね。

   It is cool for August.

2. 彼かれは、初はじめてにしては、スキーが上手じょうずだ。

   He skis well for a first-timer.

3. 木村きむらさんは九十歳きゅうじゅっさいにしては、とても元気げんきです。

   Mr. Kimura is very energetic for a ninety-year-old.

4. この値段ねだんにしては、おいしいですね。

   This tastes pretty good for the price.

When to use it

Means 'for a...' or 'considering it is...'. Take a known fact (a season, an age, a job, a first try) and say the result is different from what you would expect: 8月がつにしては涼すずしい 'cool for August'. The result can be better or worse than expected, so it works for praise or for criticism.

Nuance

Used in conversation and writing. It judges something against the usual standard for X. It is not used for the speaker's own hopes or orders. The X is usually a specific, known fact, not a range.

Compare

Compare わりに: わりに weighs one amount against another (高たかいわりにまずい, 'bad for the price'). にしては takes a fixed fact as the standard: プロにしては下手へた 'bad for a professional'. 年としのわりに, but sounds odd with a specific fact (プロのわりに).

Tip: If X is a label you can name (August, a beginner, a pro, ninety years old, this price), にしては is natural. If X is how much of something there is (how far, how hard you studied), わりに is the usual choice.