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The Particle に

に is one of the most commonly used particles in Japanese and has a wide range of uses including denoting time, location, destination and changes of state. Here we introduce some of the most common uses of the particle に.

Location: に vs で​

Both に and で can be used to talk about location, however, they are used in different contexts. に is used when talking about 'the location of being' of something e.g.

  • 福岡に住んでいます
    I live in Fukuoka.

で meanwhile is used to talk about the location of doing, combined with action verbs e.g.

  • 福岡で働いています
    I work in Fukuoka.

Change of State​

に is used in conjunction with the verb なる to indicate a change of state in something, e.g. 医者になります。 (I will become a doctor.)

Indirect Objects​

に usually follows indirect objects, for example:

  • 友達に手紙を書きます。
    I write letters to my friends.

  • 彼女は僕にお箸をくれました。
    She gave me a pair of chopsticks.

Direction and Destination: に and へ​

When talking about direction and destination, に and へ are fairly interchangeable.

For example, both 福岡に行きます and 福岡へいきます translate to 'I will go to Fukuoka'.

Exceptions to this rule include お風呂に入る (to get in a bath) and 電車に乗る (to board a bus).

In speech へ gives greater room for generalisations about direction or destination, while に tends to be used more specifically.

Time​

に is used to denote a specific time:

For example:

  • ６時半に起きました。
    I got up at 6.30.

  • ２月に福岡へ行きます。
    I will go to Fukuoka in February.

  • 2017年に日本語を勉強しました。
    In 2017, I studied Japanese.

に is not used with the following words: 今日, 今, 朝, 晩, いつ, 毎, 来

Times Per​

に is also used when donating how many times something is done in a given time, translating to 'per'. For example:

  • 一週間に３回テニスをする。
    I play tennis three times a/per week.

Example Sentences​

  • 友達に手紙を書きます。
    I write letters to my friends.

  • ６時半に起きました。
    I got up at 6.30.

  • ２月に福岡へ行きます。
    I will go to Fukuoka in February)

  • 今週末までには届くはずです。
    You should receive them by the end of the week.)

  • 私達はそこに同時に着いた。
    We got there at the same time.

  • 彼は４時に行くと私に約束した。
    He promised me that he would come at four.)

  • ベッドの下に猫がいる。
    There is a cat under the bed.

  • 彼らは一週間後にその仕事を終えた。
    They finished the work after a week.