Part 1 · How a sentence works · Lesson 7
Particles side by side: に, で, へ, と, を and から
The pairs that cause most beginner mistakes, placed next to each other: に vs で, に vs と, を vs に, へ vs に, から vs で. For each one, a question to ask yourself that settles which to use.
Once you know what each particle does, the trouble starts: several seem to mean the same English word. This lesson takes the confusing pairs one at a time. For each, there is one question you can ask yourself.
に vs で: place
Question: is something being done there, or does something just exist there?
- Existence, residence, arrival: に (いる, ある, 住む, 着く, 座る, 泊まる)
- An action taking place: で (食べる, 働く, 勉強する, 買う, 会う)
に vs で: time and means
- に: a point in time (七時に, 日曜日に).
- で: a total or limit (三日で, 五分で: "in three days", "in five minutes"), and means (バスで, 手で).
に vs と: with whom
Both can mean "with" or "to", but they behave differently.
と is mutual: both parties do the thing together or to each other. に is one-directional: one party acts toward the other.
For many verbs, both are used, and the difference is small. The clear cases:
| Mutual (と) | One-way (に) |
|---|---|
| 結婚する (marry) | 話しかける (speak to) |
| 戦う (fight) | 電話する (phone) |
| 相談する (consult) | 教える (teach) |
| 別れる (part from) | あげる (give) |
を vs に: with verbs of motion and contact
Some verbs take に for the thing they reach, where English might use a direct object:
| Verb | Particle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 乗る (ride) | に | 電車に乗る |
| 会う (meet) | に | 友達に会う |
| 入る (enter) | に | 部屋に入る |
| 勝つ (win) | に | 試合に勝つ |
| 似ている (resemble) | に | 母に似ている |
| 触る (touch) | に | 犬に触る |
を marks things that pass through or leave:
| Verb | Particle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 出る (leave) | を | 家を出る |
| 降りる (get off) | を | 電車を降りる |
| 歩く (walk) | を | 道を歩く |
| 渡る (cross) | を | 橋を渡る |
These are not rules to memorise at once. Learn each verb with its particle as one unit: 電車に乗る, not 乗る.
に vs へ: destination
For destinations, they are interchangeable: 学校に行く = 学校へ行く. へ puts a little more weight on the direction; に on arrival. Only に works for fixed points that are not destinations (時間に, 椅子に座る, 友達に).
から vs で: source and material
から marks where something starts or comes from: a person, a place, a time, a raw material you can still see changing. で marks the material or means, as in "made out of".
が vs を with feelings
You saw this earlier. 好き, 嫌い, 欲しい, 分かる, できる take が; their object-like partner is not "acted upon".
〜たい accepts either が or を.
は vs が vs を in one sentence
Checklist when a particle feels wrong
- What kind of word is the verb: action, existence, motion, feeling?
- Is the particle marking a place where, a place to, a person to, or a thing acted on?
- Is it a fixed pairing you should learn as a unit (電車に乗る)?
Longer sentences
Passages with several confusable particles are the best practice. Check each choice with the question from the lesson.
Key points
- に for existence and arrival; で for where actions happen.
- と is mutual ("with"); に is one-way ("to").
- Learn verb + particle together: 電車に乗る, 家を出る.
- に and へ both mark destinations.
- から = source; で = material still visible.
Drill these patterns
Short example sentences for the points in this lesson: