How to say [even for somebody] vs just [for somebody]


> これは私に難しい。  
>  This is difficult for me.

I want to say  
[This it is difficult **EVEN** for me.]

The closest way to say it that I could find is using とっても [totte-mo], but for
my understanding this word is not [even], it is [very]. As far as I understand
it, it modifies the adjective [difficult] to [very difficult], but I want to
modify the person to whom it is difficult.

> これは私にとっても難しい。  
>  This is VERY difficult to me.

As far as I understand every word which ends with も[mo] means [too][as well],
but I want to say the meaning, that when it is difficult even for me, then you
have no chance at all and therefore it makes no sense for you to try it at
all. For you it will be a waste of time.

It is like: if even he can not do it, than you will 100% never do it. It is
hard **even for him**.

**Question:**  
What pattern should be used to modify the person, marked by に[ni], which is
[to whom][for whom]? What general pattern is used to emphasize [even for
someone][even for somebody][even for me/him/her/them/...]

* * *

**Update**

Downthere was a long way to final simple solution which is

> これは私 **に** 難しい。  
>  This is difficult for me.
>
> これは私 **にでさえ** 難しい。  
>  This is difficult **even** for me.

It's simple like that.  
Just add でさえ after に and we get [even for somebody] instead of plain [for
somebody].

Source: [Difference between
さえ、でさえ](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/36397/)

Huge thanks to @henreetee for support!




First of all, there are numerous ways to express "even" in Japanese, so see
the link at the bottom titled「ですら・でも…」if you would like to see an excellent
explanation of those.

Second, to your example specifically, I think you are possibly confusing
（にとって）+ the particle も; and the particle に+（とっても）.

The X+にとって construction means "to/for X" (e.g. 私にとって to/for me, 日本人にとって to/for
Japanese people).

Correspondingly, the phrase X+にとって+も **can** be used to mean "even for X".
Similarly to your example:

> 敬語は日本人にとっても難しい。
>
> Formal language is difficult even for Japanese people.
>
> (lit. Formal language is difficult for Japanese people, too).

Taking your example sentence:

> これは私にとっても難しい。can be understood as
>
> This is difficult **even** for me. OR
>
> This is difficult for me, **too**. OR
>
> This is, to me, **really** difficult. (though, I would say it would be
> clearer to say これは私に **は** とっても難しい if you wanted to convey this meaning)

Which one it would be would depend on what has already been said, what is
mutually understood between the speaker and listener(s), and how it is said.

ーーー

EDIT: I should have mentioned さえ・すら as a possibility. さえ・すら are particles
which mean 'even', and focuses the attention on the preceding item. The main
difference with でも is that でも can be used to list numerous examples, but さえ
and すら can only be used to show the _most powerful_ example. But if でも is used
only once (and it often is!), it can of course play the same function as
さえ・すら.

For example:

> 日本語能力試験１級は日本人（でも・でさえ・ですら）難しい。can be understood as:
>
> Even for Japanese people, the JLPT Level 1 is difficult.

But this is arguably moving away from the original form of the question, and
さえ・すら are a bit more complex in their usage, so instead of explaining in full,
I will link [Maggie Sensei's page on
さえ](http://maggiesensei.com/2015/03/28/how-to-use-%E3%81%95%E3%81%88sae/) and
these Stack Exchange pages on it: [さえ: How to use
it?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/33409/%E3%81%95%E3%81%88-how-
to-use-it) & [ですら・でも・さえ・だろう（と／が）。 Are there any
differences?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/19784/%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%82%89-%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82-%E3%81%95%E3%81%88-%E3%81%A0%E3%82%8D%E3%81%86-%E3%81%A8-%E3%81%8C-are-
there-any-differences)




First of all, there are numerous ways to express "even" in Japanese, so see
the link at the bottom titled「ですら・でも…」if you would like to see an excellent
explanation of those.

Second, to your example specifically, I think you are possibly confusing
（にとって）+ the particle も; and the particle に+（とっても）.

The X+にとって construction means "to/for X" (e.g. 私にとって to/for me, 日本人にとって to/for
Japanese people).

Correspondingly, the phrase X+にとって+も **can** be used to mean "even for X".
Similarly to your example:

> 敬語は日本人にとっても難しい。
>
> Formal language is difficult even for Japanese people.
>
> (lit. Formal language is difficult for Japanese people, too).

Taking your example sentence:

> これは私にとっても難しい。can be understood as
>
> This is difficult **even** for me. OR
>
> This is difficult for me, **too**. OR
>
> This is, to me, **really** difficult. (though, I would say it would be
> clearer to say これは私に **は** とっても難しい if you wanted to convey this meaning)

Which one it would be would depend on what has already been said, what is
mutually understood between the speaker and listener(s), and how it is said.

ーーー

EDIT: I should have mentioned さえ・すら as a possibility. さえ・すら are particles
which mean 'even', and focuses the attention on the preceding item. The main
difference with でも is that でも can be used to list numerous examples, but さえ
and すら can only be used to show the _most powerful_ example. But if でも is used
only once (and it often is!), it can of course play the same function as
さえ・すら.

For example:

> 日本語能力試験１級は日本人（でも・でさえ・ですら）難しい。can be understood as:
>
> Even for Japanese people, the JLPT Level 1 is difficult.

But this is arguably moving away from the original form of the question, and
さえ・すら are a bit more complex in their usage, so instead of explaining in full,
I will link [Maggie Sensei's page on
さえ](http://maggiesensei.com/2015/03/28/how-to-use-%E3%81%95%E3%81%88sae/) and
these Stack Exchange pages on it: [さえ: How to use
it?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/33409/%E3%81%95%E3%81%88-how-
to-use-it) & [ですら・でも・さえ・だろう（と／が）。 Are there any
differences?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/19784/%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%82%89-%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82-%E3%81%95%E3%81%88-%E3%81%A0%E3%82%8D%E3%81%86-%E3%81%A8-%E3%81%8C-are-
there-any-differences)

