Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
Wild Nihongo!
に Particle (Direction)

に Particle (Direction)

に Particle (Direction) Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Particle

Essential Meaning: To / Toward / Into

Construction: 

  • Destination + に
    • E.g. アメリカに [To America]

Notes:

  • に (Direction) indicates a movement towards or in the direction of some place or destination. It is thus used with verbs of movement such as 行いく [To go], 来くる [To come], and 入はいる [To enter].
    • E.g. ロンドンに行いった。[I went to London.]
  • に (Direction) can be used interchangeably with へ. The difference between the two is that に (Direction) conveys a direct and straightforward movement to the destination, while へ conveys a movement in the general direction of the destination. You can think of に (Direction) as meaning “To” and へ as meaning “Toward“.
    • E.g. ロンドンに行いった。[I went to London.]
    • E.g. ロンドンへ行いった。[I headed toward London.]

Example Sentences:

私わたしは昨日きのうサンフランシスコに行いった。[I went to San Francisco yesterday.]

ジムは来年らいねんアメリカに帰かえる。[Jim is going back to America next year.]

いつか私わたしのうちに来きませんか。[Wouldn’t you like to come to my house sometime?]

彼かれらは角かどのレストランに入はいった。[They entered into the restaurant around the corner.]

WILD Examples:

Listen this line starting at 1:42: 今日きょうも息子むすこは学校がっこうに行いかない [My son is once again not going to school today]
Listen to this line from 2:51: もしも会あえたなら、素敵すてきな幸しあわせがあなたに来くるわ [If it’s the case that you’ve met him, a splendid happiness will come to you] The movement verb 来くる is a hint that this is an example of に (Direction).

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