particle N5 essential casualpolitewritten
に — the indirect-object particle
に
Meaning
- to / for ~ — marks the indirect object: the person who receives or is the target of an action
Key sentence
友達に手紙を書いた。
I wrote a letter to my friend.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (usually a person) | N + に | 母に / 先生に |
Examples
弟にプレゼントをあげた。
I gave my brother a present.
先生に質問した。
I asked the teacher a question.
毎晩家族に電話する。
I call my family every night.
When you can't use it
- With receiving verbs (もらう, 習う), に marks the source rather than the recipient — 先生に習う = learn from the teacher. から can replace it here; for plain giving (あげる) it cannot.
Easily confused with
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.