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彼の才能には舌を巻いた

Davide92

後輩
8 May 2017
96
4
23
Hi everyone! I found the above sentence in my textbook (translated as "I was astounded by his talent"). My question is, what's the に particle doing there? Is this usage to do with emotional reactions?
 
に indicates the target.
e.g.
みんなに親切だ
成績に満足する
勢いに恐怖を感じる
環境に慣れる
態度に怒りを覚える
ゲームに熱中する

As you can see in the examples above, emotion is just one of the functions of this usage.
 
I see! I'm not sure I've got all the meanings right though, could you check these two?

勢いに恐怖を感じる To feel intimidated/frightened in the presence of authority (such as police, superiors etc.) (?)
態度に怒りを覚える A certain kind of behaviour makes (subject) angry (?)
 
勢い has multiple meanings depending on the context, for instance, strength of water current, force of a fire, speed of a car, momentum of a competitor, etc.
The latter one is correct.
 
So I have one more question about に: in the sentence その地方では雨水をためてそれを飲料水に使う (from my textbook)、 why is に there? To me it sounds like 'for the purpose of drinkable water'. Honestly, I expected として instead,. Are both possible here?
 
Yes, your interpretation is correct. として can be used instead of に there.
 
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