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I heard there are a few guys who single in Jeju Island.

1) it would be paradise to me!! 2) it would be paradise for me!!

What's the difference between 1) and 2)?

I would like to know even the slightest difference. The nuance.

Peter Mortensen
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James
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    Not what you are asking about, but: "not many" is slightly more natural in conversation than "few". Correcting your first sentence: "I heard there are not many guys who are single in Jeju Island." Even simpler/more natural: "I hear there aren't many single guys in Jeju Island." ("I hear" can be used in the present tense to mean that you have noticed that people generally say something.) – nschneid Oct 02 '22 at 03:40
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    Does this answer your question? ["Important to me" or "Important for me".](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/14484/important-to-me-or-important-for-me) Also [For me/to me, which is correct or better in these examples?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/20010) and [Discerning between to me and for me?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/38472) and [What is the difference between "for me" and "to me"?](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/91717) and ["Easy TO me" or "easy FOR me" in this context](https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/196862), among others. – FumbleFingers Oct 02 '22 at 13:33

3 Answers3

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"For me" and "to me" have different meanings.

We use "to me" to indicate that this is our own opinion or perspective, and that this isn't an absolute statement of fact.

To me, big cities are scary and unfriendly.

We use "for me" to indicate that this statement of fact only applies to me, and not to everybody.

It's bad for me to drink beer because my stomach cannot process gluten.
I'm married, so it would be bad for me to flirt with her, but you're single, so go ahead!

In the case of few guys on Jeju being single, and you say it would be paradise, you're saying it's a fact that you, personally, would find it to be paradise. You're not saying that this is merely your opinion, and someone else might disagree. So...

  1. It would be paradise for me!!

...is correct.

gotube
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This is tricky. "For" and "to" can have very similar meanings. But "for" is better here.

for: Collins COBUILD sense 20

You use for when you make a statement about something in order to say how it affects or relates to someone, or what their attitude to it is.

  • What matters for most scientists is money and facilities.
  • For her, books were as necessary to life as bread.
  • It would be excellent experience for him to travel a little.

"It would be paradise for me" fits this because it is about how something affects you.

But be aware of a similar sense of "to".

to: Collins COBUILD sense 10

You use to when indicating the person whose opinion you are stating.

  • It was clear to me that he respected his boss.
  • Everyone seemed to her to be amazingly kind.

This usually goes with a particular word like the verb "seem" or an adjective like "clear", "apparent", "obvious", etc.

nschneid
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To me indicates personal value (emotional significance)

For me indicates a practical benefit (not an emotional significance)

Mohammad Farukh Ahmad
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