Use of 對

[Demian]

A very kind friend from Japan (who is helping me to learn Chinese) has sent a message - 其實我更希望你開始學日文。你已經懂漢字，所以對你來說日文是非常好學的語言啊。

I have got the gist of the message. What I have not been able to figure out is -

(1) what is 對 doing in front of 你? and

(2) what message is the sentence-part in bold conveying?

[li3wei1]

對你來說 is an expression meaning 'from your point of view' or 'as far as you are concerned' or 'for you'

the bit in bold would mean 'Japanese will be a very easy language for you to learn'.

[Demian]

Thank you very much! 謝謝您！！！

[陳德聰]

对__来说 to __ ; as far as __ is concerned ; in __'s opinion ; as for __

所以对你来说日文是非常好学的语言啊

"so Japanese would be a really easy language for you to learn"

I don't agree with this conclusion at all, considering you do not 懂汉字, and that doesn't even really make it that much easier to learn Japanese, whose grammar structure is completely different.

[Ruben von Zwack]

"对我来说" is also something I've heard often.

I guess if you strictly separate spoken from written language, and given how admirably logic Japanese Kana is, then it could be fair to say that with a background in Hanzi, you may more easily get a grasp at reading Japanese, more easily than another learner who has to build from scratch.

[imron]

and that doesn't even really make it that much easier to learn Japanese, whose grammar structure is completely different.

I think this is relative compared to other non-Japanese speakers who don't know any Chinese characters.

I think knowing a large amount of Chinese characters does make it slightly easier than someone without that background.

[Hofmann]

Let's make a new thread.

[roddy]

Thank you, Hofmann. No, really, I mean it.

[Geray]

对你来说：From your point of view

"so Japanese would be a really easy language for you to learn".--This sentence means that you have studied some Chinese, so it will be helpful for you to learn Japanese. Your friend considers that Japanese and Chinese are similar with each other, so you can study Japanese easily if you have know some Chinese.

As a Chinese, I don't agree with your friend's view. I learned some simple Japanese a few years ago, as #4 said their grammar structure are completely different.

for example: 我是中国人。 but in Japanese, its structure is : 我 中国人 是。