Difference between にかんして and について?


What is the difference between にかんして and について? Example usage would be much
appreciated!




I found the answer on this website to be incredibly useful and explained the
difference in a very understandable way: <http://nihon5ch.net/contents/bbs-
study/old/mie-bbs.cgi?s=86>

However, I've quickly attempted to do a rough translation of the important
parts of the answer so that even beginners who see this question can
understand the difference. If able, I highly recommend reading the original
post, however.

**Usage Context/Literary Differences**

When studying Japanese, 「〜について／〜についての」is studied before 「〜に関する／関して」. That is
to say, 「〜について」is often used as a basic phrase in conversation.

In the case of foreign language study, when you translate into your own
language and the words come out the same the difference can be difficult to
understand. However, there is the following difference. 「〜について」→ Expression
used often in conversation. 「〜に関して」→ Expression often used in written
language.

**About The Differences In Usage**

1) The meaning of「○○について～する」

![nitsuite](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PzNgq.png)

With verbs like 「話す」and 「考える」, for the reason of stating the topic or theme
about which you intend to speak or think about first, 「について話す／考える」is used. In
other words, if you were to say 「自分の夢について話す」, it would be because you are
going to talk about things like 1) What you want to be, 2) Why you want to be
that, 3) How you're going to become what you want to be.

2) The meaning of 「○○に関して〜する」

The meaning of 「関する」is "to be related", "to have a connection". Therefore, the
expression 「○○に関して〜する」is used with the meaning of "In relation/connection to
○○ I/He/It will 〜". That is to say, much like 「について」it displays the theme or
topic, however it is not restricted to just THAT topic. Of course
「○○に関して〜する」indicates a direct relation to ○○, however, it indicates strongly
that related and connected topics will also be addressed.

![nikanshite](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8MyWN.png)

If you picture the above description as an image, I think the difference can
be understood easily.

If you were to say「日本語 **について** 研究する」, it would have the theme of 「日本語」and be
restricted to content such as 「日本語の単語」、「日本語の文法」and 「日本語の発音」.

However, If you were to say 「日本語 **に関して** 研究する」, 「日本語」would be centered on,
however it would point out that it is not "restricted" and areas peripheral to
the topic are included.

For example, things like:

  1. 「日本語を使った劇」
  2. 「日本語で書かれた小説」

So, if you were going to be writing about Japanese festivals (What is
interesting, what type of festivals you like, etc), you normally say
"日本のお祭りについて書く". If however, you were to say 「日本のお祭りに関して書く」, it gives the
impression that you will be centering around festivals but also touching on
related topics. Additionally, it gives a much "stiffer" impression than
"について".

**Sentence Patterns**

（Ａ）「～について ＋ Predicate」（Predicate：Verb、Noun ＋ Verb)

  1. 日本の文化について 話す
  2. 日本の文化について 考える
  3. 日本の文化について 知識を深める

（Ｂ）「～についての ＋ Noun」

  1. 日本の文化についての話 を聞く
  2. 日本の文化についての考え を話す

（Ｃ）「～に関して ＋ Predicate」

  1. 日本の文化に関して 勉強する 

（Ｄ）「～に関する ＋ Noun」

  1. 日本の文化に関する論文 を読む

