Grammar › Particles › に

Grammar · particles · に

に — time & destination

The "pin" particle: it fixes an action to a point in time or an endpoint in space — and it's the one you weigh against へ for "to".

The short version

に marks a specific point. Two of its jobs cover most of N5: a point in time ("at 7", "on Sunday") and the destination or endpoint a movement arrives at ("go to home", "be in the room").

7時しちじに起おきる — get up AT 7 (time)
家いえに帰かえる — go home / return TO home (destination)

A point in time

Attach に to a clock time, a day, or a date to say when. (Vague time words like 今日きょう "today" or 明日あした "tomorrow" take no に.)

I get up at 7 every morning. (に = at that time)
▶ Japanese with Shun · L3 Daily routine · 0:53 — hear it →

A destination or endpoint

With verbs of motion (行いく go, 来くる come, 帰かえる return), に marks where you end up. With existence (いる／ある) it marks where something is.

When (I) got home… (に = arrival point)
▶ うとうとtime — Sleepy Japanese · 15:22 — hear it →

に vs へ — both mean "to"

For destinations, へ (pronounced "e") is often interchangeable with に. The nuance: に pins the exact arrival point, while へ stresses the direction you're heading. In everyday speech either is fine for "going to a place".

I'm heading to the library now. (へ = toward; に would also work)
▶ 新标日语便利店 · 第37课 · 4:23 — hear it →

Watch out

に (endpoint) vs で (where an action happens). Use に for arriving/existing, で for doing: 家いえにいる (be at home) but 家いえで食たべる (eat at home). More on that on the で page.
🗣 へ and に blur in casual speech. For where you're going, most people just reach for に — 「どこに行いく？」 — and often drop the particle entirely: 「どこ行いく？」. Save the に-vs-へ hair-splitting for writing.
Hear に in real Japanese
Free · tap any word for its reading & meaning
Open in Wakatta

Next: で — place & means → · を — object → · All grammar

Free on Wakatta — learn Japanese by listening. Every example above is a real line from a Japanese podcast, timestamped so you can hear it.