に向(む)かってTowards, To face, To head to

Structure

Noun + に向(む)かって
Noun + に向(む)けて
Noun + に向(む)けて + の + Noun

Details

About に向かって・に向けて

Coming from a link between に and the う-Verb 向(む)かう 'to face', or 'to go towards' in its て-form, に向(む)かって indicates that some specific action is being done 'towards (A)' or 'facing (A)'. (A) usually marks a stationary object or destination in the form of a noun. However, it can also mark less obvious destinations, such as the future '未来(みらい)'.

Additionally, when 向(む)ける (the transitive form of the verb) is used, it will imply that the speaker is intentionally 'aiming' or 'facing' something towards (A). This is especially true when the objective of the speaker is to make something 'suitable' for (A).

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

カメラに向(む)かって、笑顔(えがお)をお願(ねが)いします。

Please face the camera and smile.

受験生(じゅけんせい)に向(む)けてアドバイスをお願(ねが)いします。

Please give some advice aimed at a student preparing for exams.

日本(にほん)をはじめ、外国(がいこく)に向(む)けてブランドを広(ひろ)げたい。

Starting with Japan, I want to expand my brand towards foreign countries.

通貨(つうか)統一(とういつ)に向(む)けての動(うご)きが加速(かそく)している。

The movement toward the unification of currency is accelerating.

深夜(しんや)のアルバイトに向(む)けて昼寝(ひるね)をしておこう。

Aiming toward my late night part time job, I am going to take a nap in advance.

Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Try Bunpro

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

Try Bunpro

Online
- に向かって
  JapaneseTest4You
- に向かっての英語
  Weblio
- に向かって vs. に向けて
  HiNative

Offline
There are no Offline resources listed for 「に向かって・に向けて」.
You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
Try Bunpro

に向かって・に向けて – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

nekoyama
According to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar p.407, it has to be に向けて when indicating the target, direction, goal, or purpose of an action, which this sentence seems to fit.
jakedesu2010
小学生＿＿＿＿＿なんでそんあに難しい言い方をするのだろう。。。

The answer is に向かって
I put に対して

Can someone explain why that is wrong? I had an almost identical sentence yesterday for に対して which was something like this…
大人に対して失礼しないで

Seems to be exactly the same usage to me…
Yryrdz
創作活動＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿情報を収集をしてください is one of the example sentences for this. Can I get an explanation for why 向け doesn’t work here but this does? This something I get wrong for multiple sentences so I figure it’s something on my end.