～にかけては — When It Comes To
Used to highlight an area of skill, ability, or excellence in which someone is outstanding. It means 'when it comes to X, (this person) is the best/no one beats them'. It always carries a positive evaluation of superior ability.
Structure
[Noun] + にかけては
Examples
料理にかけては、母が一番だ。
Ryouri ni kakete wa, haha ga ichiban da.
When it comes to cooking, my mother is the best.
料理 (cooking) + にかけては introduces the field of superior skill
速さにかけては、彼に勝てる人はいない。
Hayasa ni kakete wa, kare ni kateru hito wa inai.
When it comes to speed, no one can beat him.
速さ (speed) + にかけては; praises his unmatched ability
この分野の知識にかけては、自信がある。
Kono bun'ya no chishiki ni kakete wa, jishin ga aru.
When it comes to knowledge in this field, I'm confident.
知識 (knowledge) + にかけては marks the area of confident expertise
• Always positive — used to praise skill, ability, or expertise. • The following clause states excellence (一番, 誰にも負けない, 自信がある, etc.). • Register: neutral; common in both speech and writing.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～にかけては is tested against.
vs に関して
にかけては specifically praises superior skill/ability in an area, while に関して neutrally marks a topic ('regarding') with no evaluation.
vs について
にかけては implies excellence/being the best at something, whereas について is a neutral 'about/concerning' with no positive nuance.
More emphasis
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