Prepositions and particles in Japanese

Level A1

Prepositions and particles in Japanese

Japanese has no prepositions: small words called particles come after the noun instead, so "to the station" is 駅へ (eki e), literally "station to" (as a particle, へ is said "e", not "he"). Words like "on" and "under" are nouns in Japanese, meaning "the top" and "the space below". You'll also meet に (ni) and で (de), which can both mean "at" or "in" but are used very differently.

Position words: 中 (naka), 上 (ue), 下 (shita), 後ろ (ushiro), 前 (mae), 隣 (tonari), 間 (aida)

"To" and "from": へ (e) and から (kara), after the place

Saying where something is: ライトはベッドの隣にあります (raito wa beddo no tonari ni arimasu)

ライトはベッドの隣にあります。

"Under the bed" is ベッドの下 (beddo no shita), "the bed's below"

In Japanese, "under", "on" or "behind" is a noun for a part of the space, and it comes after the thing, joined by の (no): ベッドの下 (beddo no shita) is literally "the bed's below". So English order flips: "in the fridge" becomes 冷蔵庫の中 (reizōko no naka), "the fridge's inside". For "between", name both things with と (to): ソファと肘掛け椅子の間 (sofa to hijikakeisu no aida).

The particle after it depends on the verb, as with any place: に for where something is put or comes to a stop, 牛乳を冷蔵庫の中に入れてください (gyūnyū o reizōko no naka ni irete kudasai), and で for where something happens, パン屋の前で会いましょう (pan'ya no mae de aimashō). When it's obvious whose side you mean, the first noun can go: 隣に座ってもいいですか (tonari ni suwatte mo ii desu ka) is "Can I sit next to you?".

Going and coming: 仕事から家へ帰ります (shigoto kara ie e kaerimasu)

仕事から家へ帰ります。

に (ni) or で (de)? Where something is, or where something happens

English uses "in" or "at" in both cases, but Japanese chooses by the verb. Where someone or something simply is, with いる (iru) or ある (aru), the place takes に: お父さんは台所にいます (otōsan wa daidokoro ni imasu), "Dad is in the kitchen". Where an action happens, it takes で: 私たちは台所でご飯を食べます (watashitachi wa daidokoro de gohan o tabemasu), "We eat in the kitchen".

に also marks where you're going, like へ (e): バスで会社に行きます (basu de kaisha ni ikimasu). The で in バスで is another use of で: it means "by", the way you travel.

At seven, on Monday: に (ni) after a time or a day

Where English uses "at" or "on" for a time, Japanese uses に after it: 朝七時に起きます (asa shichiji ni okimasu), "I get up at seven in the morning", and 日曜日に帰ってくるの？ (nichiyōbi ni kaette kuru no?), "Are you coming back on Sunday?". In 朝七時に only the clock time takes に: 朝 (asa, "in the morning") needs none. 正午に (shōgo ni) is "at noon". When a sentence just says when something is, with です (desu), there's no に: 誕生日は1月です (tanjōbi wa ichigatsu desu), "My birthday is in January".

Looking for your keys: casual speech, with ある (aru) for あります (arimasu), and 中 (naka) and 上 (ue)

Meeting a friend on the way: どこ行くの (doko iku no) without a particle, まで (made) for "as far as", and から (kara)

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