particle N2 common casualpolitewritten
に向かって — toward
に向かって ・ にむかって
Meaning
- toward ~ / facing ~ / at ~ — marks the direction a motion or action is aimed in, right now
Key sentence
船は港に向かって進んでいる。
The ship is heading toward the harbor.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (a direction, place, or target) + に向かって | N + に向かって | ゴールに向かって / 海に向かって |
Examples
彼は突然、私に向かって怒鳴り始めた。
He suddenly started shouting at me.
夢に向かって、一歩ずつ進んでいる。
I'm moving toward my dream, one step at a time.
Easily confused with
に向けて に向かって is the *physical or immediate* direction of motion/action ('heading toward', 'shouting at'); に向けて adds a sense of *purpose or target audience* over time ('aimed at', 'with a view to') — 試験に向けて勉強 ('study for the exam'), not 試験に向かって. へ へ simply marks a destination ('to'); に向かって stresses *facing and moving in that direction* without necessarily arriving — the orientation itself is the point.
Notes
- 向かう = 'to face / head for'. Works for literal directions (北に向かって), targets of an action (人に向かって言う), and figurative goals (目標に向かう).
See に向かって in real sentences
Jengo shows に向かって 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 Advanced Japanese Grammar.