Going places

Three small particles carry almost all of the movement in Japanese, and learners mix them up for months because English hides the distinctions inside one word. English says "to the station", "at the station" and "by train" without ever noticing that the first is a destination, the second a stage for an action and the third a tool. Japanese marks all three separately, and once you see the split it is difficult to unsee.

Getting there: に and へ

The verbs of movement are 行いきます, to go, 来きます, to come, and 帰かえります, to return home. Their destination takes に or へ.

学校がっこうに行いきます gakkou ni ikimasu I go to school

友ともだちが家いえへ来きました tomodachi ga ie e kimashita A friend came to my house

六ろく時じに家いえに帰かえります roku ji ni ie ni kaerimasu I go home at six

That last sentence has に twice doing different work: once for the time and once for the destination. Japanese is quite happy with this, because the particle takes its meaning from the noun in front of it.

Watch the reading of へ. As a particle it is pronounced e, never he, which is a leftover from older spelling. Whether you write に or へ hardly matters here: に is the everyday choice and points squarely at the arrival point, while へ leans a little towards the direction of travel and sounds slightly softer, which is why it turns up on signs and in polite writing. Any sentence above works with either.

How you got there: で

The means of transport takes で.

電車でんしゃで行いきます densha de ikimasu I go by train

バスで会社かいしゃに行いきます basu de kaisha ni ikimasu I go to the office by bus

飛行機ひこうきで日本にほんへ行いきました hikouki de nihon e ikimashita I went to Japan by plane

The question word is 何なんで, which is how you ask someone how they are getting somewhere.

何なんで駅えきに行いきますか nan de eki ni ikimasu ka How are you getting to the station

One exception matters. Walking takes no で, because your feet are not a vehicle. Use 歩あるいて, the て form of 歩あるきます, sitting in front of the verb.

歩あるいて帰かえりました aruite kaerimashita I walked home

Where it happened: で again

The same で marks the place an action is performed. This is the meaning that collides with に in learners' heads, and the fix is a single question: is the place the target of the movement, or the stage for an activity?

図書館としょかんで勉強べんきょうします toshokan de benkyou shimasu I study at the library

駅えきで待まっています eki de matte imasu I am waiting at the station

公園こうえんで写真しゃしんを撮とりました kouen de shashin o torimashita I took photographs in the park

So 学校がっこうに行いきます, going to the school, but 学校がっこうで食たべます, eating at the school. Putting で in front of 行いきます is the classic error, and it happens because English "at" and "to" both feel available. Movement verbs never take で for their destination.

Going somewhere in order to do something

Drop the ます from a verb and put に before 行いきます, and you have said why you are going.

買かい物ものに行いきます kaimono ni ikimasu I am going shopping

映画えいがを見みに行いきました eiga o mi ni ikimashita I went to see a film

友ともだちに会あいに行いきます tomodachi ni ai ni ikimasu I am going to meet a friend

The stem is what is left when ます comes off: 見みます becomes 見み, 食たべます becomes 食たべ. Nouns describing an activity, like 買かい物もの or 勉強べんきょう, slot in directly.

People are destinations too

に does not only point at places. With 会あいます, to meet, the person you are meeting is treated as the target you are heading towards, so they take に rather than を.

駅えきで先生せんせいに会あいました eki de sensei ni aimashita I met the teacher at the station

That sentence uses both particles in their proper roles at once: で for the stage, に for the target. English "meet with" is a useful reminder, and 先生せんせいを会あいました is simply wrong.

Who with, from where, how far

Three more pieces finish the picture. と marks the person you go with, から the starting point, まで the end point.

家族かぞくと旅行りょこうに行いきます kazoku to ryokou ni ikimasu I am going travelling with my family

家いえから駅えきまで歩あるきます ie kara eki made arukimasu I walk from home to the station

一人ひとりで来きました hitori de kimashita I came alone

That last で is worth noticing: 一人ひとりで is a set phrase, "by oneself", built from the same particle of means.

The particles at a glance

Vocabulary

Two habits will keep you out of trouble. Before you choose a particle, ask what the noun is doing in the sentence rather than what the English preposition was: a place you arrive at takes に, a place you act in takes で. And remember that で covers means of every kind, not just vehicles, so it is also the particle for the tool you write with and the language you speak in.

日本語にほんごで話はなしてください nihongo de hanashite kudasai Please speak in Japanese

With all of this you can say where you went, how you got there, who you went with and what you went for. Next you will stop moving and describe what is where.