に (ni): Time, Location & Direction Particle

Level: N5. (Note: the JLPT publishes no official grammar list; the level shown is the common textbook convention.)

A particle is a short word placed after a noun to show its job in the sentence. に (ni) is one of the busiest particles in Japanese: the same two-letter word points at a time, a place something is, a destination, or the person on the receiving end of an action.

The rule

に (ni) attaches to a noun and gives it one of four core jobs. The noun it follows tells you which job is meant, together with the verb at the end of the sentence.

• A point in time. With a clock time, a date or a day, に (ni) means “at / on”: 七時に起きます (Shichi-ji ni okimasu) = “I get up at seven.”
• Where something exists. With ある (aru), いる (iru) and 住む (sumu), に (ni) marks the place a thing or person simply is: 東京に住んでいます (Tōkyō ni sunde imasu) = “I live in Tokyo.”
• A destination. With motion verbs like 行く (iku), 来る (kuru), 帰る (kaeru) and 乗る (noru), に (ni) marks the end point you move to or onto: 学校に行きます (Gakkō ni ikimasu) = “I go to school.”
• The receiver of an action. With あげる (ageru), 電話する (denwa suru), 教える (oshieru) and 会う (au), に (ni) marks the person something is given to, said to, or done to: 友達に電話します (Tomodachi ni denwa shimasu) = “I phone a friend.”

Core uses of に (ni)

Example sentences

Each sentence was written for this lesson, with readings.

Common mistakes

• ❌ 公園にあそびます (kōen ni asobimasu) → ✅ 公園で遊びます (Kōen de asobimasu). Playing is an action, so the place takes で (de); に (ni) is for where something exists.
• ❌ 今日に行きます (kyō ni ikimasu) → ✅ 今日行きます (Kyō ikimasu). Relative time words like 今日 (kyō) and 明日 (ashita) take no particle; に (ni) is only for a clock time, date or day.
• ❌ 友達を電話します (tomodachi o denwa shimasu) → ✅ 友達に電話します (Tomodachi ni denwa shimasu). The person you phone is the receiver, marked by に (ni), not the object を (o).
• ❌ 東京で住んでいます (Tōkyō de sunde imasu) → ✅ 東京に住んでいます (Tōkyō ni sunde imasu). 住む (sumu) treats the place as where you exist, so it takes に (ni).
• ❌ 電車で乗ります (densha de norimasu) → ✅ 電車に乗ります (Densha ni norimasu). 乗る (noru) marks the thing you get onto with に (ni); で (densha de) would mean you did something else while on the train.

A short conversation

— 明日は何時に起きますか。 (Ashita wa nan-ji ni okimasu ka.) — “What time will you get up tomorrow?” — 七時に起きて、八時に家を出ます。 (Shichi-ji ni okite, hachi-ji ni ie o demasu.) — “I’ll get up at seven and leave home at eight.” — どこに行きますか。 (Doko ni ikimasu ka.) — “Where are you going?” — 大阪に行って、友達に会います。 (Ōsaka ni itte, tomodachi ni aimasu.) — “I’m going to Osaka and meeting a friend.”

Usage notes

• No に (ni) on relative time words. 今日 (kyō, today), 明日 (ashita, tomorrow), 毎日 (mainichi, every day), 今 (ima, now) and 先週 (senshū, last week) take no particle. Days of the week and clock times do take に (ni).
• に (ni) and へ (e) for destination overlap. 東京に行きます (Tōkyō ni ikimasu) and 東京へ行きます (Tōkyō e ikimasu) are both natural; に (ni) stresses the arrival point, へ (e) the direction travelled.
• Frequency uses に (ni) too. To say “times per period”, use に (ni): 一日に三回 (ichi-nichi ni san-kai) = “three times a day”, 週に一度 (shū ni ichido) = “once a week.”
• Purpose of a trip. With a motion verb, the verb stem + に (ni) marks why you go: 映画を見に行きます (Eiga o mi ni ikimasu) = “I go to watch a film.”

Compared with…

• で (de) marks the place where an action happens or the means used, not where something exists or a destination. 公園で遊びます (Kōen de asobimasu) = “I play in the park” (action), while 公園に木があります (Kōen ni ki ga arimasu) = “There are trees in the park” (existence). See the で (de) particle lesson.
• へ (e) marks direction toward a place and is read “e” though written へ. 東京へ行きます (Tōkyō e ikimasu) highlights the direction; 東京に行きます (Tōkyō ni ikimasu) highlights arriving there. With a receiver or a time, only に (ni) works. See the へ (e) particle lesson.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Review the object particle first: を (o) particle
• Back to the Japanese grammar section
• New here? Start with Start Learning Japanese Here