Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 8/13

にするTo decide on, To choose, To make something into, To view something as

Sometimes written as とする, which focuses on the result, rather than the process of 'making'

Structure

Noun + + する

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Expression

  • Word Type

    Verb

  • Register

    Standard

About にする

にする is a structure that combines the particle (a location/target), with the verb する. It means to 'make/decide' something in a certain way. The nuance with にする is that the speaker has direct control over the outcome. This is where the strong feeling of 'choice' comes from. The noun that comes before にする is the thing that is being decided.

In this example, although the common translation is 'to decide', it is actually much closer to the slang expression 'to do (A)' in English. This means that the literal translation is actually 'I'll do a beer', or 'I'll make it a beer'.

Sometimes the particle is used instead of に. Although this has the same meaning, it changes the nuance slightly. When is used, it takes away the feeling of being a direct decision. とする tends to be used in more formal situations, but this is only because is less 'definite', so results in the phrase sounding less pushy.

If you were going to compare these two to an English equivalent, it would be similar to the difference between the following sentences.

- I'll buy a burger. (A burger is the direct target of 'buy')

- I'll go with a burger. (You aren't 'going' anywhere, it just sounds softer)

This grammar point may be used for more abstract nouns, and does not specifically need to be 'items'.

Examples

--:--

    (なに)にする

    What will you decide on?

    今日(きょう)(ばん)ごはん(なに)にする

    What have you decided on for today's dinner?

    このかばんにします

    To decide on this bag.

    明日(あした)(あさ)ごはん(さかな)にします

    To decide on fish for breakfast tomorrow.

    このレストランにします

    To decide on this restaurant.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online


    • Offline

        • みんなの日本語 II

          Page 120 [CH 44]

        • [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

          Page 310

        • Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide

          Page 129

        • [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

          Page 72

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

      にする – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

      • Ambo100

        Ambo100

        DBJG has a useful distinction on the difference between にする and に決める which might be worth mentioning.

        image706×153 16.5 KB
      • mielke

        mielke

        hello @Jake!

        I got a review on this together with “shall” (ましょうか), but this item comes after にする, so I was a bit lost on that.
        is this an error? shouldn’t this only show up after I review ましょうか?

        thanks!

      • mrnoone

        mrnoone

        Hey @mielke
        We will likely replace the sentence, by the way, if you tap on the ましょうか it will show the definition

        Cheers!

      Got questions about にする? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

      Join the Discussion