Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 3: 2/13

に

In, At, To, For, On

Structure

Noun + に

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Particle

  • Word Type

    Case Marking Particle

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    助詞

  • 単語の種類

    格助詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About に

に can be a very difficult particle to master in Japanese, as it has many different translations in English. These translations are usually 'in', 'at', 'to', 'for', or 'on'. Let's look at an example of each meaning.

While these examples may seem quite confusing at first, it will be easier to think of に as always having one 'basic' meaning. That meaning is to be the 'end-point' of an action. This means that whatever action is being described, can only be considered complete/able to be completed once you're at/while you're at the location/time described in the sentence.

Verbs like 住(す)む (to live/dwell) often confuse learners, as they use に instead of で. This is also due to the fact that 住(す)む is a verb that can only be 'completed' at the destination. (You can only complete the act of living/dwelling in the place that you live, so to speak).

Examples

  • 彼(かれ)はあそこにいます。

    He is at that place over there.

  • ここに本(ほん)を置(お)く。

    To place a book on this place (here).

  • この机(つくえ)の上(うえ)に座(すわ)る。

    To sit on this desk.

  • 駅(えき)に行(い)く。

    To go to the station.

  • 病院(びょういん)に行(い)く。

    To go to the hospital.

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に – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (9 in total)

  • FredKore

    FredKore

    The verbs that use に just show that you exist at a location.
    The verbs that use で show that you are actively doing something at a location.

    So, with the example, you might be thinking that “stay” (泊まる) is an action, but it’s really just describing that you exist at that hotel, and then the actions you take at that location are check-in, eat, talk, sleep. The hotel is the stage/setting for the actions that you do.

    今夜、ホテルに泊まって、ホテルのレストランで食べて、ホテルの部屋のベッドで寝ます。
    This evening, I’ll stay at the hotel (I’ll be at the hotel), and eat at the hotel restaurant, and sleep in the hotel bed.

    Here’s a link that even has examples where both に or で could be used and the different nuances of each.
    に (Ni) vs で (De): How These Two Particles Define Location and Time Differently

  • carolcakka

    carolcakka

    この漫画にはフリガナがついているから読よみやすいです.
    I also saw this example sentence, what nuance would it make if it’s just ‘この漫画はフリガナがついているから読よみやすいです’? without the ‘に’? Thank you in advance!

  • FredKore

    FredKore

    For には, it’s probably better to think of it as a different particle from either に or は.
    には (JLPT N2) | Bunpro

    You’ll see it gets used in its own way like in these expressions…
    わけにはいかない (JLPT N3) | Bunpro
    からには (JLPT N2) | Bunpro
    ないことには～ない (JLPT N2) | Bunpro

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