<p>张斌《现代汉语虚词词典》 p. 159</p>
<blockquote>
<p>【比较】“对于”与“对”</p>
<p>“对于”和“对”在很多场合可以通用。一般说，能用“对于”的地方，也能用“对”，但能用“对”的地方不一定都能用“对于”：</p>
<ol>
<li>“对”后宾语是指人的名词或代词，表示人与人之间的关系时，一般不能用“对于”替换。</li>
<li>“对”表示“朝、向”之意时，不能用“对于”替换。</li>
<li>“对……”可以用在助动词或副词的后面，“对于”……则不能用在助动词或副词的后面。</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>对于 can usually be replaced with 对, but certain usages of 对 cannot be replaced with 对于. 1) When the object is a person, use 对, not 对于; 2) When 对 means &quot;towards (direction)&quot;, do not use 对于; 3) 对于 is not used after adverb or auxiliary verb, as in 你应该对这个问题发表意见 (do not use 对于这个问题), 我们都对这个电影感兴趣 (do use use 对于这个电影).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-29T00:50:58.247Z
2024-01-29T00:50:58.247Z
user2249675
<p>Also, 对于 could mean &quot;in relation to (some issue)&quot; (similar to 关于). So,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>妈妈对于我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>could mean (albeit awkwardly)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mother--in relation to the issue of me not being too trusting--often treats me like a kid.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>In contrast,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>妈妈对我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>clearly means</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mother is not too trusting of me, often treats me like a kid.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-29T10:34:57.163Z
2024-01-29T10:34:57.163Z
user103496
<p>The reason why they cannot be used interchangeably in the two sentences you provided is because the meanings are different.<br />
Specifically in <code>妈妈对我不太信任</code>, <code>对</code> can be roughly interpreted as <code>对待</code>(deal with, behave toward), for example: <code>妈妈对我不太好</code>(Mom does not treat me well), or<code>他对人很和善</code>(He treats people kindly).<br />
The meaning of <code>对于</code> on the other hand is similar to standard prepositions in English such as <code>about</code>, <code>to</code>, or <code>regarding</code>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-30T07:44:05.680Z
I'm still wondering about this: 对 〈介〉(2)  对待。用法大致同“对于”  [toward]。
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-30T22:34:28.310Z
This does not look like a very good explanation to me since the difference in usage is apparent. I found this [Comprehensive Overview of Chinese Prepositions](https://www.digmandarin.com/overview-of-chinese-prepositions.html) on google which seems to have done a good job demonstrating the difference.
killderich111
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-31T07:50:00.233Z
Hi, very nice link, thanks a lot! My comment wasn't supposed to be an explanation, rather, to show a contradiction. 对 = 对于, 对 = toward = 对待 = 对于 (which is not supposed to be according to 2. in user2249675's answer). I can understand such uses of 对, but I can't explain what 对 is in 妈妈对我不太信任. In English we say "have confidence IN someone": "妈妈对我不太信任" Mum doesn't have much confidence in me. Maybe 对 represents IN? German uses the Dative case for 信任, vertrauen, (trust me = vertrau mir) which would correspond with IN.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-30T03:45:08.560Z
2024-01-30T03:45:08.560Z
killderich111
<p>The following sentences are all correct in Chinese grammar:</p>
<ul>
<li>妈妈对于我来说不太可信 Mom is not trustable for me (<code>对</code> means <code>someone is</code>)</li>
<li>妈妈对我不太信任 Mom doesn't trust me (<code>对</code> means <code>someone's attitude</code>)</li>
<li>妈妈对于我来说很重要 Mom is very important to me. (<code>对</code> means <code>someone is</code>)</li>
<li>妈妈对我很重要 Mom is very important to me. (<code>对</code> means <code>someone is</code>)</li>
<li>机器对于我来说不太可信</li>
<li>我对机器不太信任</li>
<li>机器对于我来说很重要</li>
<li>机器对我很重要</li>
</ul>
<p>Incorrect:</p>
<ul>
<li>妈妈对于我不太信任</li>
<li>妈妈对我不太可信</li>
<li>我对于机器来说不太可信</li>
<li>机器对我不太信任</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-29T23:42:00.987Z
This does not really answer the question. Giving a list of valid and invalid sentences with no further comment or explanation doesn’t tell the asker anything about _why_ 对 needed to be changed to 对于 in the example sentence.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-29T10:34:04.223Z
2024-01-29T10:34:04.223Z
flywhc
<p>This is a 语病 question from HSK6 Standard Course (p.94 <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FLee2.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">photo of original</a>):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>妈妈对于我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The corrections are:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>介词和宾语搭配不当。<br />
妈妈<strong>对</strong>我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So the answer changes 对于 to 对 and nothing else.</p>
<p>However, as far as I know, when 对 is used as a preposition, it means 对于.  For example, in my 现代汉语词典 (<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Tt895.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">photo</a>; top of the right column), we have the definition of 对 as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>对 (13) (介) 对于，说明事物的关系：<em>他～这件事有意见</em>。</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22dui%22_and_%22duiyu%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chinese Grammar Wiki</a> writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When 对 and 对于 are used as prepositions to modify a verb, they are basically the same. As a matter of fact, when used this way 对 is just the simplification of 对于! 对于 sounds a bit more formal.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why should 对于 be changed to 对 in the above sentence?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-29T19:23:27.263Z
"妈妈对于我不太信任": this sentence is very strange. Why not just "妈妈不太信任我"?
joehua
<grammar><word-choice>
Why should 对于 be changed to 对 in 妈妈对于我不太信任，老把我当成孩子?
# Why should 对于 be changed to 对 in 妈妈对于我不太信任，老把我当成孩子?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-01-29)

This is a 语病 question from HSK6 Standard Course (p.94 [photo of original](https://i.sstatic.net/FLee2.jpg)):

> 妈妈对于我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。

The corrections are:

> 介词和宾语搭配不当。  
> 妈妈**对**我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。

So the answer changes 对于 to 对 and nothing else.

However, as far as I know, when 对 is used as a preposition, it means 对于. For example, in my 现代汉语词典 ([photo](https://i.sstatic.net/Tt895.jpg); top of the right column), we have the definition of 对 as:

> 对 (13) (介) 对于，说明事物的关系：*他～这件事有意见*。

[Chinese Grammar Wiki](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22dui%22_and_%22duiyu%22) writes:

> When 对 and 对于 are used as prepositions to modify a verb, they are basically the same. As a matter of fact, when used this way 对 is just the simplification of 对于! 对于 sounds a bit more formal.

**Question**: Why should 对于 be changed to 对 in the above sentence?

**Tags:** grammar, word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "妈妈对于我不太信任": this sentence is very strange. Why not just "妈妈不太信任我"?  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-01-29. Score: 4

张斌《现代汉语虚词词典》 p. 159

> 【比较】“对于”与“对”
>
> “对于”和“对”在很多场合可以通用。一般说，能用“对于”的地方，也能用“对”，但能用“对”的地方不一定都能用“对于”：
>
> 1. “对”后宾语是指人的名词或代词，表示人与人之间的关系时，一般不能用“对于”替换。
> 2. “对”表示“朝、向”之意时，不能用“对于”替换。
> 3. “对……”可以用在助动词或副词的后面，“对于”……则不能用在助动词或副词的后面。

对于 can usually be replaced with 对, but certain usages of 对 cannot be replaced with 对于. 1) When the object is a person, use 对, not 对于; 2) When 对 means "towards (direction)", do not use 对于; 3) 对于 is not used after adverb or auxiliary verb, as in 你应该对这个问题发表意见 (do not use 对于这个问题), 我们都对这个电影感兴趣 (do use use 对于这个电影).


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-01-29. Score: 2

Also, 对于 could mean "in relation to (some issue)" (similar to 关于). So,

> 妈妈对于我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。

could mean (albeit awkwardly)

> Mother--in relation to the issue of me not being too trusting--often treats me like a kid.

---

In contrast,

> 妈妈对我不太信任，老把我当成孩子。

clearly means

> Mother is not too trusting of me, often treats me like a kid.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-01-30. Score: 1

The reason why they cannot be used interchangeably in the two sentences you provided is because the meanings are different.  
Specifically in `妈妈对我不太信任`, `对` can be roughly interpreted as `对待`(deal with, behave toward), for example: `妈妈对我不太好`(Mom does not treat me well), or`他对人很和善`(He treats people kindly).  
The meaning of `对于` on the other hand is similar to standard prepositions in English such as `about`, `to`, or `regarding`.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: I'm still wondering about this: 对 〈介〉(2)  对待。用法大致同“对于”  [toward]。  
> **username_4**: This does not look like a very good explanation to me since the difference in usage is apparent. I found this [Comprehensive Overview of Chinese Prepositions](https://www.digmandarin.com/overview-of-chinese-prepositions.html) on google which seems to have done a good job demonstrating the difference.  
> **username_5**: Hi, very nice link, thanks a lot! My comment wasn't supposed to be an explanation, rather, to show a contradiction. 对 = 对于, 对 = toward = 对待 = 对于 (which is not supposed to be according to 2. in username_2's answer). I can understand such uses of 对, but I can't explain what 对 is in 妈妈对我不太信任. In English we say "have confidence IN someone": "妈妈对我不太信任" Mum doesn't have much confidence in me. Maybe 对 represents IN? German uses the Dative case for 信任, vertrauen, (trust me = vertrau mir) which would correspond with IN.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-01-29. Score: 0

The following sentences are all correct in Chinese grammar:

* 妈妈对于我来说不太可信 Mom is not trustable for me (`对` means `someone is`)
* 妈妈对我不太信任 Mom doesn't trust me (`对` means `someone's attitude`)
* 妈妈对于我来说很重要 Mom is very important to me. (`对` means `someone is`)
* 妈妈对我很重要 Mom is very important to me. (`对` means `someone is`)
* 机器对于我来说不太可信
* 我对机器不太信任
* 机器对于我来说很重要
* 机器对我很重要

Incorrect:

* 妈妈对于我不太信任
* 妈妈对我不太可信
* 我对于机器来说不太可信
* 机器对我不太信任

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: This does not really answer the question. Giving a list of valid and invalid sentences with no further comment or explanation doesn’t tell the asker anything about _why_ 对 needed to be changed to 对于 in the example sentence.  

---

