にする (nisuru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Choose on

The expression にする (nisuru) means to choose or to decide towards something in a certain way.

にする indicates a decision over which the speaker has direct control, and chooses himself in the specified situation.

In this post we learn more about meaning of にする, how it is formed, and when にする is used through real example sentences.

How にする is formed

The expression にする is composed of:

• Particle に: indicates "direction", towards what you have control of choice
• する: Irregular verb meaning to do

にする follows the noun towards which we decide what to do:

How and when to use にする

As we have seen, にする is used to indicate a choice or decision about something over which we have direct control.

A typical example of using にする is when ordering at a restaurant:

This example sentence uses the expression にする applied to the noun ステーキ (steak): this indicates that I (私(わたし)) choose (or ordered) a steak.

とする and にする

It is also possible to use the particle と instead of に, to form the expression とする.

Unlike にする, とする indicates less direct or control over the decision: the speaker made a decision, but is less confident that it can be done or has less control over the outcome.

とする is used in more formal contexts than にする.

する and 決める

There is also the verb 決(き)める in Japanese which means to choose or to decide. The verb 決(き)める can in turn be preceded by the particle に to form the expression に決(き)める.

The difference between する and 決(き)める is that にする is usually used for simple choices, which don't have big long-term implications (like ordering at a restaurant).

に決(き)める instead is used when the decision is more important, such as a change of life, job, or similar.

Example sentences with にする