The Core Particles I

Japanese Grammar 1

Chapter 5 · The Core Particles I: が, を, に, で, へ

🏷️ The Core Particles I — が・を・に・で・へ

Particles are the glue of Japanese: small words that follow a noun and say what job it does. You already know は (topic), も (also), の (of) and か (question). This chapter adds five more, the ones that appear in nearly every sentence: が, を, に, で, へ. The verbs here (たべます, いきます, あります and so on) are used as ready-made words; the ます-form is explained in Japanese Grammar 1, chapter 8.

The rule in one box が marks the subject (who does or is). を marks the object (what is acted on). に marks a point: a time, a destination, a place where something exists, a receiver. で marks the place where an action happens and the means used. へ marks direction. Each particle goes straight after its noun, and the verb comes last.

1. が: the subject

Chapter 4 showed that は sets a topic and が names the subject, often as new information. Two things make が special for a learner.

が answers "who?" and "what?"

Japanese	Say it	English
だれがきましたか。たなかさんがきました。	dare ga kimashita ka. Tanaka-san ga kimashita	Who came? — Mr Tanaka came.
なにがありますか。	nani ga arimasu ka	What is there?
あめがふっています。	ame ga futte imasu	Rain is falling. (new information: "it's raining")

A question word (だれ, なに, どれ) as the subject always takes が, never は.

が with liking, ability and knowing

A small group of words describe a feeling or ability, and the thing liked or known takes が, not を:

Word	Example	English
すき (like)	わたしはすしがすきです。 watashi wa sushi ga suki desu	I like sushi.
きらい (dislike)	ちちはさかながきらいです。 chichi wa sakana ga kirai desu	My father dislikes fish.
じょうず / へた (good / bad at)	アンナさんはうたがじょうずです。 Anna-san wa uta ga jōzu desu	Anna is good at singing.
わかります (understand)	にほんごがすこしわかります。 nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu	I understand a little Japanese.
あります / います (exist; have)	くるまがあります。 kuruma ga arimasu	I have a car. / There is a car.

Watch out: すきです takes が, not を わたしはすしをすきです is a very common learner error. In Japanese, liking is a state of the subject, not an action done to the sushi, so the sushi takes が. The same applies to きらい, じょうず, へた, ほしい (want) and わかる.

2. を: the object

を (read o) marks what the verb acts on: the direct object.

Japanese	Say it	English
パンをたべます。	pan o tabemasu	I eat bread.
おちゃをのみます。	ocha o nomimasu	I drink tea.
にほんごをべんきょうします。	nihongo o benkyō shimasu	I study Japanese.
えいがをみます。	eiga o mimasu	I watch a film.

を is also used with verbs of movement through or away from a place: こうえんをあるきます kōen o arukimasu (I walk through the park), いえをでます ie o demasu (I leave the house).

3. に: a point in time, space or relationship

に picks out a point. It has four main jobs.

Job	Example	English
Time (a clock time, a day, a date)	しちじにおきます。 shichiji ni okimasu にちようびにあいます。 nichiyōbi ni aimasu	I get up at seven. We meet on Sunday.
Destination	がっこうにいきます。 gakkō ni ikimasu	I go to school.
Where something exists	ここにねこがいます。 koko ni neko ga imasu	There is a cat here.
Receiver / target	ともだちにでんわをします。 tomodachi ni denwa o shimasu せんせいにあいます。 sensei ni aimasu	I phone a friend. I meet the teacher.

Watch out: no に with "relative" times Use に after a specific time (しちじに, にちようびに, しがつに, ごがついつかに) but not after words that already point to a time relative to now: きょう, あした, きのう, まいにち, まいあさ, いま, らいしゅう, せんしゅう. So あしたいきます (not あしたに), but にちようびにいきます.

4. で: where it happens and how

で marks the place where an action takes place and the means by which it is done.

Job	Example	English
Place of action	としょかんでべんきょうします。 toshokan de benkyō shimasu	I study in the library.
Means of transport	バスでがっこうにいきます。 basu de gakkō ni ikimasu	I go to school by bus.
Tool / instrument	はしでたべます。 hashi de tabemasu	I eat with chopsticks.
Language / material	にほんごではなします。 nihongo de hanashimasu	I speak in Japanese.
Total / group	ぜんぶでごひゃくえんです。 zenbu de gohyaku-en desu	It's 500 yen in all.

に or で for a place?

Place	Particle	Example
Where something is (exists)	に	うちにねこがいます。 (There is a cat at home.)
Where an action takes place	で	うちでねことあそびます。 (I play with the cat at home.)

5. へ: direction

へ (read e) marks the direction of movement. With いきます, きます, かえります it overlaps with に, and both are correct.

Japanese	Say it	English
にほんへいきます。	Nihon e ikimasu	I'm going to Japan. / towards Japan
うちへかえります。	uchi e kaerimasu	I'm going home.
いえにかえります。	ie ni kaerimasu	I'm going home. (same meaning)

へ is not "to a point" へ only expresses direction; it cannot mark where something is, when, or who receives. For those, use に. When you are unsure of a destination, に is always safe with いきます, きます, かえります.

6. Particles together: は and も

When you want to make a noun the topic or add "also", は and も combine with the other particles in two different ways:

Rule	Example	English
は / も replace が and を	パンはたべません。ねこもいます。	Bread, I don't eat (but rice, yes). There is a cat too.
は / も are added after に, で, へ (and と, から)	とうきょうにはいきません。ここでもべんきょうします。	To Tokyo, I'm not going (but elsewhere). I study here as well.

Notice the order: に + は = には, で + も = でも. A common word order in a sentence is topic → time → place → object → verb: わたしはまいあさしちじにいえでごはんをたべます。 watashi wa maiasa shichiji ni ie de gohan o tabemasu ("I eat breakfast at home at seven every morning").

🗣️ In Use — つかいかた

The five particles in real exchanges. Read each aloud.

① Where, how and when

A: あしたどこへいきますか。 Ashita doko e ikimasu ka. Where are you going tomorrow?

B: きょうとへいきます。でんしゃでいきます。 Kyōto e ikimasu. Densha de ikimasu. I'm going to Kyoto. I'm going by train.

A: なんじにでますか。 Nanji ni demasu ka. What time do you leave?

② Likes

A: なにがすきですか。 Nani ga suki desu ka. What do you like?

B: すしがすきです。アンナさんもすしがすきです。 Sushi ga suki desu. Anna-san mo sushi ga suki desu. I like sushi. Anna likes sushi too.

③ Where do you study?

A: どこでべんきょうしますか。 Doko de benkyō shimasu ka. Where do you study?

B: としょかんでべんきょうします。いえではしません。 Toshokan de benkyō shimasu. Ie de wa shimasen. I study in the library. At home I don't.

📋 Quick Reference

Particle	Marks	Example
が	subject; the thing liked or known; "who?"	すしがすきです。
を	object; path through	パンをたべます。
に	specific time; destination; where something is; receiver	しちじにおきます。
で	place of action; means; tool	バスでいきます。
へ	direction (read e)	にほんへいきます。

✍️ Practice — れんしゅう

Try each one, then click to check.

1. Fill in the particle: わたしはすし__ すきです。

Show answer

が: すしがすきです。 Liking takes が.

2. Fill in: しちじ__ おきます。

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に: a specific time takes に.

3. Fill in: としょかん__ べんきょうします。

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で: place where the action happens.

4. Fill in: バス__ いきます。 ("I go by bus.")

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で: means of transport.

5. Which particle(s) can complete がっこう__ いきます。?

Show answer

に or へ; both are correct with いきます.

6. Which is correct: あしたにいきます or あしたいきます?

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あしたいきます。 No に after a relative time word like あした.

7. Say "I eat rice with chopsticks."

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はしでごはんをたべます。 (hashi de gohan o tabemasu)

8. Say "There is a cat here." Then "I play with the cat here."

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ここにねこがいます。 (existence → に) and ここでねことあそびます。 (action → で).

9. Add は: とうきょうにいきません。 → "To Tokyo I'm not going (but elsewhere)."

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とうきょうにはいきません。 (は follows に.)

10. Correct the error: わたしはすしをすきです。

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わたしはすしがすきです。すき takes が, not を.

Coming up in Chapter 6: The Core Particles II: と, や, から, まで, より, も. "And" and "with", "and so on", from and until, comparison, だけ and しか, and the sentence-final ね and よ.