Core case particles を, に, で
A1 格助詞「を・に・で」 5 / 69
In short
Japanese marks a noun’s job with a particle placed after it, not with word order. を (romanized o) marks the thing the verb acts on, に marks a point you aim at - a goal, a place of existence, a moment on the clock, a recipient - and で marks the setting or the tool: where an action is performed and what you perform it with.
The rule
Every noun in a Japanese sentence carries a small tag that says what it is doing. Learn the tag together with the verb, because the verb decides which tag it wants.
Step 1 - を marks what the verb acts on. The basic pattern is Noun + を + Verb.
- パンを食べます (pan o tabemasu) - “eat bread”. The bread is what gets eaten.
- Two further jobs, both with intransitive motion verbs: the space a movement passes through or along (道を歩きます michi o arukimasu - walk along the road, 公園を散歩します kōen o sanpo shimasu - stroll through the park, 橋を渡ります hashi o watarimasu - cross the bridge), and the space a movement leaves (家を出ます ie o demasu - leave the house, 電車を降ります densha o orimasu - get off the train).
- を is only a particle. It never starts a word, and it is written o, never “wo”.
Step 2 - に marks a point. Think of a single dot on a map, on a clock, or on a list of people. Its main uses:
- destination / goal: 学校に行きます (gakkō ni ikimasu) - go to school.
- place of existence, with あります／います: 東京にいます (Tōkyō ni imasu) - be in Tokyo.
- point in time: 七時に起きます (shichi-ji ni okimasu) - get up at seven.
- recipient (indirect object): 友達に手紙を書きます (tomodachi ni tegami o kakimasu) - write a letter to a friend.
- purpose of going/coming, as ます-stem + に + 行きます／来ます／帰ります: 食べに行きます (tabe ni ikimasu) - go in order to eat. Drop the ます and add に: 食べます -> 食べに, 見ます -> 見に.
- rate: 週に三回 (shū ni san-kai) - three times a week.
Step 3 - で marks the setting or the means.
- place where an action happens: 図書館で勉強します (toshokan de benkyō shimasu) - study at the library.
- means / instrument / language: 電車で行きます (densha de ikimasu) - go by train; 日本語で話します (nihongo de hanashimasu) - speak in Japanese.
- material: 木で作ります (ki de tsukurimasu) - make it out of wood.
- cause: 病気で休みます (byōki de yasumimasu) - be off because of illness.
- scope of a comparison: 日本でいちばん高い山 (Nihon de ichiban takai yama) - the highest mountain in Japan.
Step 4 - for a place, ask “target or stage?” If the verb is 行きます・来ます・帰ります・います・あります (arrival or existence), the place is a point: に. If the verb is anything you do there, the place is a stage: で.
Step 5 - for a time, ask “fixed point or relative to now?” A time with a fixed place on the clock or the calendar - an hour, a weekday, a month, a date - takes に. A time defined relative to now (今日, 明日, 来週), a regular interval (毎日, 毎朝) and the question word いつ take no particle at all.
Forms & patterns
を - what the verb acts on:
| Job | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct object | Noun + を + transitive verb | 本を読みます (hon o yomimasu) - read a book |
| Space passed through | Space + を + motion verb | 道を歩きます (michi o arukimasu) - walk along the road |
| Space left behind | Place + を + 出ます／降ります | 家を出ます (ie o demasu) - leave the house |
に - a point you aim at:
| Job | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Destination | 学校に行きます | gakkō ni ikimasu - go to school |
| Place of existence | 東京にいます | Tōkyō ni imasu - be in Tokyo |
| Point in time | 七時に起きます | shichi-ji ni okimasu - get up at seven |
| Recipient | 友達に電話します | tomodachi ni denwa shimasu - phone a friend |
| Arrival surface | いすに座ります | isu ni suwarimasu - sit down on the chair |
| Purpose (ます-stem + に) | 食べに行きます | tabe ni ikimasu - go to eat |
| Rate | 週に三回 | shū ni san-kai - three times a week |
で - setting and means:
| Job | Example | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Place of an action | 図書館で勉強します | toshokan de benkyō shimasu - study at the library |
| Means / instrument | はしで食べます | hashi de tabemasu - eat with chopsticks |
| Language | 日本語で話します | nihongo de hanashimasu - speak in Japanese |
| Material | 木で作ります | ki de tsukurimasu - make it out of wood |
| Cause | 病気で休みます | byōki de yasumimasu - be off ill |
| Scope of comparison | 日本でいちばん | Nihon de ichiban - most … in Japan |
The contrasts that decide the particle:
| Sentence | Particle | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 東京にいます (Tōkyō ni imasu) - I am in Tokyo | に | います／あります state existence at a point |
| 東京で働きます (Tōkyō de hatarakimasu) - I work in Tokyo | で | 働きます is an action, so the city is its stage |
| 東京に住んでいます (Tōkyō ni sunde imasu) - I live in Tokyo | に | 住みます counts as existing somewhere, not as an activity (this 〜ている form comes in step 15) |
| 学校に行きます (gakkō ni ikimasu) - I go to school | に | the school is the point reached |
| 道を歩きます (michi o arukimasu) - I walk along the road | を | the road is the space passed through |
| 公園で遊びます (kōen de asobimasu) - I play in the park | で | the park is where the activity is carried out |
Time words - which ones take に:
| Takes に | Takes no particle |
|---|---|
| 七時に (shichi-ji ni) - at seven | 今日 (kyō) - today |
| 十時半に (jū-ji han ni) - at half past ten | 明日 (ashita) - tomorrow |
| 月曜日に (getsuyōbi ni) - on Monday | 毎日 (mainichi) - every day |
| 四月に (shi-gatsu ni) - in April | 来週 (raishū) - next week |
| 七月四日に (shichi-gatsu yokka ni) - on 4 July | 今朝 (kesa) - this morning |
| 誕生日に (tanjōbi ni) - on my birthday | いつ (itsu) - when? |
ごろ marks an approximate point in time (三時ごろ san-ji goro - around three), ぐらい an approximate quantity or duration (三時間ぐらい san-jikan gurai - about three hours); you cannot say 三時間ごろ. After ごろ the に is normally dropped, though keeping it is not wrong: 三時ごろ帰ります (san-ji goro kaerimasu) - I go home around three.
Examples
- 毎朝七時に起きます。 (Maiasa shichi-ji ni okimasu.) - I get up at seven every morning.
- 八時に家を出ます。 (Hachi-ji ni ie o demasu.) - I leave the house at eight.
- バスで会社に行きます。 (Basu de kaisha ni ikimasu.) - I go to the office by bus.
- 図書館で日本語を勉強します。 (Toshokan de nihongo o benkyō shimasu.) - I study Japanese at the library.
- 友達に手紙を書きました。 (Tomodachi ni tegami o kakimashita.) - I wrote a letter to my friend.
- 母は今台所にいます。 (Haha wa ima daidokoro ni imasu.) - My mother is in the kitchen now.
- 朝、公園を散歩します。 (Asa, kōen o sanpo shimasu.) - In the morning I take a walk through the park.
- 次の駅で電車を降ります。 (Tsugi no eki de densha o orimasu.) - I get off the train at the next station.
- 週に三回プールで泳ぎます。 (Shū ni san-kai pūru de oyogimasu.) - I swim in the pool three times a week.
- 富士山は日本でいちばん高い山です。 (Fujisan wa Nihon de ichiban takai yama desu.) - Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan.
Common mistakes
- レストランに食べます -> レストランで食べます (resutoran de tabemasu) - a place where an action is performed takes で; に with a place only marks a goal you move to or where something exists.
- 道に歩きます -> 道を歩きます (michi o arukimasu) - the road is the space you move through, not a point you arrive at, so it takes を.
- 友達を会います -> 友達に会います (tomodachi ni aimasu) - English “meet someone” looks transitive, but 会います takes に. Same trap with 電車に乗ります (densha ni norimasu - get on the train).
- 今日に行きます -> 今日行きます (kyō ikimasu) - time words defined relative to now (今日, 明日, 来週), regular intervals (毎日) and the question word いつ take no particle.
- 日本にいちばん高い山 -> 日本でいちばん高い山 (Nihon de ichiban takai yama) - the area inside which you compare is a scope, and scope is で.
Tips
- One question settles most place particles: is the noun a target or a stage? Target (go to, come to, be at) -> に. Stage (work, study, eat, play, buy) -> で. The に verbs are a short list worth memorising: 行きます, 来ます, 帰ります, います, あります, 住みます, 着きます, 通います.
- を is o in romaji and nothing else. 本を読みます = hon o yomimasu, never “hon wo yomimasu” - just as the topic particle は is wa and へ is e.
- Several verbs take に where English gives a plain object: 友達に会います (meet a friend), 電車に乗ります (get on a train), 先生に聞きます (ask the teacher). Memorise the particle as part of the verb, the way you memorise a preposition in English.
- で also covers “in what form”: 日本語で (in Japanese), えんぴつで (with a pencil), 一人で (hitori de - alone, by oneself). If you can rephrase the English as “by means of”, the particle is で.