Japanese Grammar Bank

JAPANESE DIRECTION PARTICLES

Today we will study an essential component of the language: the Japanese direction particles.

There are 2 direction particles you’ll have to get the hang of in Japanese: に ni and へ he.

Both can carry the general meaning of “to” in English.

DIRECTION PARTICLE に

に ni

Let’s start with the multifaceted に ni. 

Most verbs to do with motion (to go, to walk, to go home, etc) are paired with に ni, and many verbs that pair with words like “to” or “on” in English are paired with に ni (to sit down, to get on, to go in, etc). 

Also, recipients are marked with に ni in sentences describing giving or receiving:

PATTERN

Noun + に

JAPANESEROMAJIENGLISHNOTES
学校に行きました。Gakkou ni ikimashita.I went to school.
日本に行く。Nihon ni iku.I’m going to go to Japan.
駅に歩いて、電車に乗りました。Eki ni aruite, densha ni norimashita.I walked to the station and got on a train.Here, we see に ni twice. First, the motion of walking towards the station is indicated. Then, the motion of getting on a train is indicated. 
ソファに座って、友達に電話しました。Sofa ni suwatte, tomodachi ni denwa shimashita.I sat on the sofa and called my friend.Here, the first に ni is indicating the motion of sitting down. The second is indicating the recipient (or direction) of the phone call.
ベンジャミンさんはお母さんにプレゼントをあげました。Benjamin san wa okaasan ni purezento o agemashita.Benjamin gave his mother a present.Here, に ni is indicating that the mother is receiving the present.
コンビニに入りました。Konbini ni hairimashita.I went into the convenience store.Here, に ni indicates where the person is entering (入る hairu).

DIRECTION PARTICLE へ

When used as a particle へ he is pronounced え e (from now on it will be written as へ e  in this article). 

へ is like に  in that it is used with verbs of motion. 

Most sentences with a motion verb which use に can use へ  instead.

PATTERN

Noun + へ

We can substitute in some of the に ni sentences we just looked at:

JAPANESEROMAJIENGLISH
学校へ行きました。Gakkou e ikimashita.I went to school.
日本へ行く。Nihon e iku.I’m going to go to Japan.

Alongside the use with motion, へ  can also be used when welcoming someone somewhere:

イギリスへようこそ！Igirisu e youkoso!Welcome to England!

へ  is also used to start a letter:

田中さんへTanaka san eTo Mr Tanaka,

へ can also be used for figurative things like goals.

JLPT合格へ向けて頑張っています。JLPT goukaku e mukete ganbatteimasu.I’m working towards passing the JLPT.

Owing to its somewhat poetic nuance, へ  is often used in the titles of songs, movies, comics, or novels. 

JAPANESE PARTICLES に vs へ

へ is more poetic than に. へ gives the feeling of moving towards something, whereas に feels more like a point on a map. 

Look at the nuance difference in these two sentences:

JAPANESEROMAJIENGLISH
福岡に行きます。Fukuoka ni ikimasu.I will go to Fukuoka.
福岡へ行きます。Fukuoka e ikimasu.I will head to Fukuoka.

Using へ e gives the second sentence more directionality and therefore would be more like “head to”.

Let’s look at another set of examples:

JAPANESEROMAJIENGLISH
スーパーへ走った。su-pa- e hashitta.I ran to the supermarket.
スーパーに走って行った。su-pa- ni hashitte itta.I ran to the supermarket.

NOTE || We don’t say “スーパーに走った Su-pa ni hashitta”. See below.

Owing to the “moving towards something” feeling, using へ e with 走った hashitta is fine here. But if you use に ni, it doesn’t sound like it has a direction.

So, adding 行った itta adds the directionality. Think of it as, “I to the supermarket by running” vs “I went to the supermarket by running”.

In basic terms, if it’s a pure motion verb (like to go, to come) then you can use either, but if it describes how you go (walking, running, swimming) then you need to add a pure motion verb for ni and don’t with へ. 

DIRECTION PARTICLES WITH NO VERB

In Japanese, words are often dropped, and the full meaning is understood from the context. It can be difficult to wrap your head around this at first.

JAPANESEROMAJIENGLISH
北海道へHokkaido eI’m going to Hokkaido.

Here, if someone were to ask you where you’re going over winter vacation, you could simply answer with this. 

JAPANESEROMAJIENGLISH
どうぞこちらへDouzo, kochira eCome this way.

When you go into a restaurant you might hear this. The full sentence would be どうぞこちらへ来てください Douzo kochira e kite kudasai. 

NOTE || Verb dropping normally happens with へ because it has some directionality included already.

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FAQs

What are the Japanese direction particles?

The Japanese direction particles are に (ni) and へ (he).

– に and へ  are both used as in “to” with pure motion verbs (to go, to return, to leave, etc)

– に marks the receiver of something.

– に needs a pure motion verb if a verb describing how movement happens is used (to swim, to walk, etc) whereas へ  doesn’t.

– へ can be used without a verb.

– へ is used for welcoming, letter writing, and titles. 

How to use に (ni)?

Most verbs to do with motion (to go, to walk, to go home, etc) are paired with に ni, and many verbs that pair with words like “to” or “on” in English are paired with に ni (to sit down, to get on, to go in, etc). 

Also, recipients are marked with に ni in sentences describing giving or receiving:

学校に行きました。Gakkou ni ikimashita. I went to school.

日本に行く。 Nihon ni iku. I’m going to go to Japan.

How to use へ (he)?

When used as a particle へ he is pronounced え e (from now on it will be written as へ e  in this article). 

へ is like に  in that it is used with verbs of motion. 

Most sentences with a motion verb which use に ni can use へ e instead.

学校へ行きました。 Gakkou e ikimashita. I went to school.

Alongside the use with motion, へ  can also be used when welcoming someone somewhere:

イギリスへようこそ！ Igirisu e youkoso! Welcome to England!

へ  is also used to start a letter:

田中さんへ Tanaka san e To Mr Tanaka,

What are the Japanese location particles?

The Japanese location particles are に ni and で de.

に is used for the state of existing or being somewhere.

に is also used for time, helping set the scene of a verb.

で is used to mark the location of an action.

—

Learn more about Japanese location particles.

What is the Japanese possessive particle?

The Japanese possession particle is の (no).

We add the particle の to show the possession of something. It is like adding ‘s to the end of a word.

彼の帽子 kare no boushi | His hat

犬の毛 inu no ke | Dog’s fur

—

Learn more about the Japanese possessive particle.

Where to learn more Japanese grammar?

You can learn more grammar like this in our Japanese Grammar Bank.

If you’d like to study with a teacher, you should have a look at our online lessons on Flexi Classes (we even have a 7 day free trial!)

Would you rather study Japanese in Japan? We offer group and individual classes in Tokyo.

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