{"id":50476,"date":"2026-10-29T07:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/?p=50476"},"modified":"2026-11-02T00:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T16:32:12","slug":"japanese-particles-ni-de","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/en\/japanese-particles-ni-de\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Particles Ni and De: Examples &#038; Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n#post-50476 .inside-article{max-width:920px;margin:36px auto 64px;padding:0 28px;color:#333;line-height:1.9;font-size:17px;box-sizing:border-box;}\n#post-50476 .entry-header{display:block!important;margin:0 0 32px;padding:30px;border-radius:16px;background:#faf5e9;border-top:6px solid #f6cf28;}\n#post-50476 .entry-title{font-size:32px!important;font-weight:700!important;line-height:1.55!important;margin:0 0 16px!important;letter-spacing:.01em;}\n#post-50476 .entry-meta{font-size:14px;color:#666;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content p{margin:0 0 22px;line-height:1.9;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content h2{font-size:25px;font-weight:700;line-height:1.6;margin:46px 0 24px;padding:15px 20px;background:#faf5e9;border-left:5px solid #f6cf28;border-radius:0 10px 10px 0;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content h3{font-size:21px;font-weight:700;line-height:1.65;margin:32px 0 16px;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content aside{padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0;background:#fff9dc;border-radius:10px;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content blockquote{font-size:17px;line-height:1.9;margin:18px 0 32px;padding:20px 24px;background:#f5f8fa;border-left:4px solid #5d86a6;border-radius:0 10px 10px 0;font-style:normal;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content small{font-size:15px;color:#555;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content ol{list-style:decimal;padding-left:28px;margin:0 0 24px;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content li{margin:10px 0;line-height:1.9;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content details{background:#faf5e9;padding:20px 24px;border-radius:12px;margin:24px 0;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content summary{cursor:pointer;font-weight:700;}\n#post-50476 .entry-content a{color:#2f729f;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;}\n#post-50476 .entry-meta a{color:#666;}\n#post-50476 footer.entry-meta{padding-top:24px;border-top:1px solid #e8e8e8;margin-top:40px;}\n@media(max-width:650px){#post-50476 .inside-article{margin:24px auto 48px;padding:0 20px;font-size:16px;}#post-50476 .entry-header{padding:24px 20px;}#post-50476 .entry-title{font-size:26px!important;}#post-50476 .entry-content h2{font-size:22px;}#post-50476 .entry-content h3{font-size:19px;}#post-50476 .entry-content blockquote{padding:16px 18px;}}\n#post-50476 .hm-table-scroll{overflow-x:auto;margin:24px 0}#post-50476 table{width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:16px;min-width:500px}#post-50476 th,#post-50476 td{padding:14px 16px;border:1px solid #e5dfd1;text-align:left;vertical-align:top}#post-50476 th{background:#faf5e9}#post-50476 .entry-title{overflow-wrap:break-word}<\/style>\n<p>Both \u306b (ni) and \u3067 (de) can appear after a place name, so it is easy to confuse them. The key is to look at what the sentence describes: where someone or something is, or where an action takes place.<\/p><p>This beginner guide uses everyday and travel examples to explain the difference. You will also see how \u306b marks a destination and \u3067 marks a means of transport.<\/p><aside><strong>A useful starting point:<\/strong> use \u306b for the location of a person or thing with \u3044\u307e\u3059 or \u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059, and \u3067 for the place where an action happens. These particles have other uses too, so learn them with their verbs and context.<\/aside>\n<h2>At a glance: \u306b and \u3067<\/h2><div class=\"hm-table-scroll\"><table><thead><tr><th>What you want to describe<\/th><th>Particle<\/th><th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Where someone or something is<\/td><td lang=\"ja\">\u306b<\/td><td><span lang=\"ja\">\u5148\u751f\u306f\u5b66\u6821\u306b\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>The teacher is at school.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Where an action takes place<\/td><td lang=\"ja\">\u3067<\/td><td><span lang=\"ja\">\u5b66\u6821\u3067\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3092\u52c9\u5f37\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>I study Japanese at school.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The destination of a journey<\/td><td lang=\"ja\">\u306b<\/td><td><span lang=\"ja\">\u660e\u65e5\u3001\u4eac\u90fd\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>I\u2019m going to Kyoto tomorrow.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>A means of transport<\/td><td lang=\"ja\">\u3067<\/td><td><span lang=\"ja\">\u96fb\u8eca\u3067\u4eac\u90fd\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>I\u2019m going to Kyoto by train.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\n<h2>1. Use \u306b for the location of a person or thing<\/h2><p>With \u3044\u307e\u3059 and \u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059, the location is usually marked by \u306b. Use \u3044\u307e\u3059 mainly for people and animals, and \u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059 for things.<\/p><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u90e8\u5c4b\u306b\u732b\u304c\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>There is a cat in the room.<\/small><\/blockquote><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u99c5\u306e\u524d\u306b\u30b3\u30f3\u30d3\u30cb\u304c\u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>There is a convenience store in front of the station.<\/small><\/blockquote><p>If you are looking for someone, you can ask <span lang=\"ja\">\u7530\u4e2d\u3055\u3093\u306f\u3069\u3053\u306b\u3044\u307e\u3059\u304b\u3002<\/span> (\u201cWhere is Tanaka?\u201d). You are asking about their location, so use \u306b.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Use \u3067 for the place where an action happens<\/h2><p>With actions such as \u98df\u3079\u307e\u3059 (eat), \u8cb7\u3044\u307e\u3059 (buy) and \u52c9\u5f37\u3057\u307e\u3059 (study), use \u3067 to say where the action takes place.<\/p><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u30ec\u30b9\u30c8\u30e9\u30f3\u3067\u663c\u3054\u98ef\u3092\u98df\u3079\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>I eat lunch at a restaurant.<\/small><\/blockquote><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u30b3\u30f3\u30d3\u30cb\u3067\u6c34\u3092\u8cb7\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>I buy water at a convenience store.<\/small><\/blockquote><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u5bb6\u3067\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3092\u52c9\u5f37\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>I study Japanese at home.<\/small><\/blockquote>\n<h2>3. Compare two sentences about the same place<\/h2><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u56f3\u66f8\u9928\u306b\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>I am at the library.<\/small><br><br><span lang=\"ja\">\u56f3\u66f8\u9928\u3067\u672c\u3092\u8aad\u307f\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>I read books at the library.<\/small><\/blockquote><p>The place is the same, but the meaning is different. The first sentence tells us where someone is; the second tells us where they read. Choose the particle by thinking about the verb and the meaning of the whole sentence.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Use \u306b and \u3067 when travelling<\/h2><blockquote><span lang=\"ja\">\u30d0\u30b9\u3067\u30db\u30c6\u30eb\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br><small>I\u2019m going to the hotel by bus.<\/small><\/blockquote><p>Both particles can appear in one sentence. \u30d0\u30b9\u3067 describes the means of transport, while \u30db\u30c6\u30eb\u306b describes the destination. Do not choose a particle just by looking at the noun: ask what role that noun plays in the sentence.<\/p><p>\u306b can also mark a specific time, as in <span lang=\"ja\">7\u6642\u306b\u8d77\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span> (\u201cI get up at seven\u201d). Time expressions such as \u660e\u65e5 (tomorrow) and \u6bce\u65e5 (every day) usually do not take \u306b. Treat this as a separate use from location.<\/p>\n<h2>Quick practice: which particle fits?<\/h2><p>Try filling in the gaps before checking the answers.<\/p><ol><li><span lang=\"ja\">\u516c\u5712\uff08\u3000\uff09\u5b50\u3069\u3082\u304c\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>There are children in the park.<\/li><li><span lang=\"ja\">\u30ab\u30d5\u30a7\uff08\u3000\uff09\u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc\u3092\u98f2\u307f\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>I drink coffee at a caf\u00e9.<\/li><li><span lang=\"ja\">\u96fb\u8eca\uff08\u3000\uff09\u5927\u962a\uff08\u3000\uff09\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>I\u2019m going to Osaka by train.<\/li><li><span lang=\"ja\">\u673a\u306e\u4e0a\uff08\u3000\uff09\u672c\u304c\u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span><br>There is a book on the desk.<\/li><\/ol><details><summary>Show answers and explanations<\/summary><ol><li><strong>\u306b<\/strong> \u2014 the sentence tells us where the children are.<\/li><li><strong>\u3067<\/strong> \u2014 the caf\u00e9 is where the action of drinking takes place.<\/li><li><strong>\u3067 \/ \u306b<\/strong> \u2014 the train is the means of transport; Osaka is the destination.<\/li><li><strong>\u306b<\/strong> \u2014 the sentence describes the location of the book.<\/li><\/ol><\/details>\n<h2>Next step: write about your own day<\/h2><p>Write one sentence saying where you are, then another saying what you do there. For example: <span lang=\"ja\">\u5bb6\u306b\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002\u5bb6\u3067\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3092\u52c9\u5f37\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/span> (\u201cI\u2019m at home. I study Japanese at home.\u201d) Practising with familiar situations helps you use the particles beyond memorising a rule.<\/p><p>Would you like a teacher to explain grammar in English and help you use it in conversation? Explore our <a href=\"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/en\/online-lesson\/\">online Japanese courses and private lessons<\/a>.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/en\/blog\/\">Back to the Japanese Learning Blog<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/en\/japanese-daily-conversation\/\">Read: 15 everyday Japanese phrases<\/a><\/p>\n<style>body.postid-50476:not(.admin-bar) #main{padding-top:124px!important}body.postid-50476 .entry-content h2,body.postid-50476 .entry-content h3{scroll-margin-top:124px}@media(max-width:768px){body.postid-50476:not(.admin-bar) #main{padding-top:94px!important}body.postid-50476 .entry-content h2,body.postid-50476 .entry-content h3{scroll-margin-top:94px}}<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Understand Japanese particles ni (\u306b) and de (\u3067) with clear English explanations, everyday examples and four practice questions.","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/?p=50409","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[327],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japanese-learning","en-US"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50476"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50651,"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50476\/revisions\/50651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himawari-edu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}