Japanese Particle に: Clear Up all Doubts You May Have

This article is part of Wasabi grammatical support service. We’re more than delighted to answer any grammatical questions you may have without any additional fee (*Wasabi user only). Today’s topic is regarding Japanese particle に. As you may know, に is the particle having the most various functions. Therefore, although this is very useful, learners are often facing difficulty in identifying the proper usage such as に vs. で and に vs. へ. In this article, we will clear up all doubts you may have.

Ultimate Explanation for Japanese Particle に

に (Location of Existence) vs. で (Location of Action)

に can express animated and non-animated existences. As you can see the examples above, the concept of に and で is completely different. に focuses on where you are and で focuses on what you do. For example, with this sentence;  公園こうえん に / で 花はなを植うえる (I will plant a flower in the park), the difference will be like this

公園こうえん に 花はなを植うえる

公園こうえん で 花はなを植うえる

When you use に, the flower has to be in the park. However, when you use で, the flower can move outside the park after you planted the flower in the pot in the park.

Direction and Destination: に vs. へ

に and へ can express direction and destination with the motion verbs like 行いく, 来くる, 着つく. In this context, に and へ are interchangeable. There are some exceptions: 温泉おんせん に / へ 入る (I will take a hot spring bath) and バス に / へ 乗のる (I will get in a bus). It seems that the particle should be に when it’s somewhat related to location of existence.

に・へ (Destination) vs. まで (Part of Destination)

に and へ indicate the final destination and まで indicates part of the destination. Thus, the South Pole can hardly be part of the destination, so に and へ are suitable. When it comes to transit, まで is suitable. One important thing here is に and へ are used only for the motion verbs. If you use action verbs like 歩あるく, 走はしる, you need to use まで: 駅えきまで走はしった (I ran up to the station).

Result of Change: に vs. と

に and と can express result of change. The difference of the nuance is still controversial among linguists. に and と are interchangeable in many cases. Let us dare to say: You may always use に to express result of change until other native speakers correct you. Unless you write an academic thesis, we think you won’t have any problem, which includes business situations.

Object of Verb: に vs. を・と

に, を and と can express object of verb. The difference between に and を cannot be defined clearly. However, it is said that if the verb has a nuance of direction or motion, the particle should be に. When it comes to “to meet” and “to kiss”, imaginatively speaking, you would move toward him or her.

The difference between に and と is whether it’s an interactive action or not. If に is used in the example, you must be the action taker and we can describe that it’s from you to him. If と is used, both “you” and “he” can be the action taker and we can describe that it’s each other. Therefore, we can use only と with this sentence, 彼氏 に / と 結婚した (My boyfriend and I got married), because marriage must be interactive.

Source: に vs. から

に and から can express source, thus they are interchangeable.

Specific Time

に can specify time. This is a unique function of に. However, don’t confuse it with the topic maker; は. For example, with this sentence; ６月ろくがつは涼すずしい (June is cool) , ６月ろくがつ is the subject and hence you cannot use に.

Notion of Per

に can express notion of per. This is another unique function of に and hence that’s not interchangeable.

Conclusion

In this article, we have gone over each function in detail. You don’t have to memorize all of them right away, but learning the functions allows you to easily identify the proper particle. Therefore, when you need clarification, just return to this article and review them.

If you have any doubts about Japanese grammar, please feel free to ask us. We will answer any questions with pleasure (*Wasabi user only)!

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