〜にしては

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: Add にしては to a noun or plain clause to give an evaluation that differs from expectations for that condition.
• Basic usage: 初めて作ったにしては、よくできている。 praises the result relative to its being a first attempt.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• An expectation benchmark and simple difficulty
  • 子どもにしてはよく知っている evaluates knowledge as greater than expected of a child. 子どもには難しい simply says something is difficult for a child, without necessarily expressing a surprising evaluation relative to that condition.
• A known condition
  • 新人にしては仕事が速い evaluates the person on the premise that they are new to the job. 新人のわりに仕事が速い is a close expression likewise presenting the performance as unexpected for that condition.