particle N5 essential casualpolitewritten
に — destination, location, and time
に
Meaning
① destination: to / into — the goal a movement arrives at
② location of existence: in / at — where someone or something exists (with いる / ある)
③ point in time: at / on / in — a specific clock time, day, or date
Key sentence
① destination
学校に行く。
I go to school.
② location of existence
部屋に猫がいる。
There's a cat in the room.
③ point in time
七時に起きる。
I get up at seven.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (place / time) | N + に | 東京に / 三時に |
Examples
① destination
電車に乗る。
I get on the train.
椅子に座る。
I sit down on the chair.
② location of existence
机の上に本がある。
There's a book on the desk.
③ point in time
日曜日に友だちと会う。
I'm meeting a friend on Sunday.
When you can't use it
- に marks where something statically exists; the place where an action is performed takes で instead: 公園で遊ぶ (play in the park), never ×公園に遊ぶ. location of existence
- Relative time words (今日, 明日, 毎日, 来年) take no に — only absolute times do (七時に ✓, ×明日に). point in time
Easily confused with
で に marks the location where something exists (static); で marks the location where an action happens. いる/ある → に; する/遊ぶ → で. へ Both mark movement toward a goal. に focuses on the destination reached; へ focuses on the direction headed. For plain 'go to', they are interchangeable. に (indirect object) The same particle に also marks the recipient of an action (友達に渡す) — a separate role from place and time, covered on its own page.
See に in real sentences
Jengo shows に the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.