Questions tagged [particle-に]

助詞「に」. The particle に (ni) represents motion towards something (English "to") and location (English "at" and "in"). Dative, locative and temporal case particle.

Questions about the particle "に" (ni), which acts as a postposition used to represent motion towards (English "to") and location (English "at" and "in").

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What is the difference between "に" and "には"?

The title should be pretty self-explanatory. What meanings does each convey? And in what kinds of circumstances would one be used instead of the other? For example, what are the differences between these two sentences? 図書館に本がある。 図書館には本がある。
voithos
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When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?

Can you use へ and に interchangeably, as in: 北海道へ行く and 北海道に行く ? Are there any subtle differences in the use of these two?
nevan king
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Particles: に vs. で

I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking about being inside something, I don't know when to use "の中に" and when to use "の中で." Likewise, when…
language hacker
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What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?

Is it a nuance difference? Is it formality? EDIT For example: 請求書のお支払いは現金のみとなりますので、ご了承くださいませ。 請求書のお支払いは現金のみになりますので、ご了承くださいませ。 I just made that example up, but for some reason, my gut tells me it's the first one, even though I don't see anything…
makdad
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What's the difference between に and で when speaking of time of an action?

What's the difference between に and で when speaking of the time of an action? I know に is very specific about time, but I'm not sure when, or how to use で. Can で only be used in certain instances? Supposing we want to say "After eating breakfast, I…
Miguel
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What's the difference between には and では

My book has these two sentences and I don't quite understand why they are using には in the first example and では on the second one. It seems to me that only では would be correct in this situation. 1)わたしの [学校]{がっこう} には アメリカ[人]{じん}の [先生]{せんせい}…
Julian
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Particle に to enumerate things / to list items?

I encountered several sentences where に was used—from my deduction of the context—to enumerate things. For example a character about to go somewhere, checks his bag if he has everything he needs…
Mymji
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versus +と versus +に

I often see adverbs used in one of three ways: 1) Adverb appears in isolation in a sentence: あまり 好きじゃないんですが。 2) Adverb is followed by に 別々に お願いします。 1970年代後半、多くの罪もない日本の一般市民が 次々に 失踪した。 3) Adverb is followed by と 鮮明な花火が夜空に 次々と 揚がった。 Notice that…
Zach
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今までに vs. 今まで - what is the difference in meaning?

I recently used a following sentence in my homework: 今日までに 私は 二百まいしゃしんを とりました。 Now, in my homework I actually used 今日まで, without に, and I got it corrected. What's the difference between 今日まで and 今日までに?
liori
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に vs で again: 前に vs 後で

Following the current trend of pitting the particles に and で against each other, here is another question that does the same but from another type of usage and perspective. When we want to say "do X before Y", we use "Y 前に X": 食べる前に「いただきます」と言う。 On…
Lukman
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Can't に always replace へ?

Me and the particle へ don't get along. It's not that we don't like each other, it's that we don't get each other. I'm in a pretty committed relationship with に. I mean, I think I understand what へ aspires to do. へ is focused on the process of going…
Questioner
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が and に interchangeability and difference in meaning

Consider these sentences: だれ{が・に}これが出来るか だれ{が・に}日本語が分からないか When both が and に are acceptable, what is their difference in meaning and practical usage?
Flaw
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When does a suru-noun require し in front of a purposive-に?

According to Chocolate's comment to a question, some suru-nouns can be followed by the purposive に directly, but others require (the stem of) する in between.  面会しに行く  面会に行く  料理しに行く × 料理に行く Other examples that Chocolate gives…
dainichi
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How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction?

It is common to ask the difference between just "へ" (-e) and "に" (-ni) but it seems to get even more complicated when you also mix in "まで" (made) and even "の方" (no-hō). When Japanese people ask me where I'm going they always ask "どこまで" (doko made)?"…
hippietrail
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When to use 他【ほか】の or 他【ほか】に

I always thought only 他の existed, but my teacher uses 他に a lot. Are there differences between when each can be used? Here are two examples of each from my online dictionary: だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん (Ask somebody else for help) ほかに行きたい人はいますか (Is there anyone…
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