に

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 七時に起きる。▶ —
   I wake up at 7.
2. 東京に住んでいます。▶ —
   I live in Tokyo.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Ni (に) is a major Japanese targeting particle, packing many functions: (1) time ("shichi-ji ni" at 7, "nichi-youbi ni" on Sunday); (2) static location ("Toukyou ni sumu" live in Tokyo, "tsukue ni hon ga aru" the book is on the desk); (3) direction / arrival ("gakkou ni iku" go to school, "tomodachi ni au" meet a friend); (4) indirect object ("tomodachi ni ageru" give to a friend, "sensei ni kiku" ask the teacher); (5) result of change ("isha ni naru" become a doctor, "koori ga mizu ni naru" ice turns to water); (6) passive / causative agent ("sensei ni okorareru" be scolded by the teacher); (7) purpose / rate ("kaimono ni iku" go shopping, "ichi-nichi ni san-kai" three times a day). Korean splits this domain across -e and -ege; Japanese fuses it into one. The de/ni split (ni = static existence / arrival; de = location where an action happens) is essential. English maps all of at / in / to / for onto ni.

Quick check

1. Core difference between ni and de?

   • ni = static existence / arrival; de = location where an action occurs
   • Synonyms
   • ni = past / de = future
   • Honorific vs humble