Structure
Noun + に
Details
Particle
Case Marking Particle
Standard
About に
に can be a very difficult particle to master in Japanese, as it has many different translations in English. These translations are usually 'in', 'at', 'to', 'for', or 'on'. Let's look at an example of each meaning.
While these examples may seem quite confusing at first, it will be easier to think of に as always having one 'basic' meaning. That meaning is to be the 'end-point' of an action. This means that whatever action is being described, can only be considered complete/able to be completed once you're at/while you're at the location/time described in the sentence.
Verbs like 住む (to live/dwell) often confuse learners, as they use に instead of で. This is also due to the fact that 住む is a verb that can only be 'completed' at the destination. (You can only complete the act of living/dwelling in the place that you live, so to speak).
Synonyms
Related
Examples
--:--
彼はあそこにいます。
He is at that place over there.
ここに本を置く。
To place a book on this place (here).
この机の上に座る。
To sit on this desk.
駅に行く。
To go to the station.
病院に行く。
To go to the hospital.
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Choosing between に and で
sci.lang.japan
Particles at / in / with に / で / と
Japanese Ammo
The particle に I
Imabi
The target 「に」 particle
Tae Kim
Offline
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 299
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 302
Genki I
Page 60
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 91
Marugoto Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai
Page 26
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 55
みんなの日本語 I
Page 32 [CH 4]
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に – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (14 in total)
FredKore
勤める(つとめる) is more like “to be employed as, to serve as, to work for”
働く(はたらく) is like “to work (hard at), to labor, to operate”
So, it’s the difference between “I’m working for (I’m employed at) a company” versus “I’m working (I’m working hard) at my job”. Related but different.
会社に勤めている。
仕事で働いている。
additionalramen
These are both very helpful explanations, thank you!!
John-Bunpro
Just as another example to illustrate how two verbs that are similar in meaning can take different particles, consider 住む and 暮らす.
Both are used to express ‘to live (i.e. reside in a particular place’, but 住む, which has more of a nuance of that’s the place where you generally are/exist (and is therefore similar in nuance to existence verbs like いる) takes に, while 暮らす, which has more of the nuance of performing daily activities of life there (similar to e.g. 生活する) takes で.
So you see, for example, 大阪に住む vs. 田舎で暮らす. The overall meaning doesn’t differ drastically, but the two verbs take different particles because 住む frames ‘living’ more as existence and 暮らす more in terms of actions.
Anyhow, just thought I’d toss this out there as another example of the...
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