LLearn Japanese

I’m still trying to figure out the difference between で and に.

  • October 6, 2022

Can someone please tell me what the differences are when using these particles.
Like when is the right definition:

駅で会いましょう

or

駅に会いましょう

5 comments

  1. It might help to think of で as marking a place or means of action, and に as marking a target of action. So, it’s the difference between “Let’s meet at the station” (で) and “Let’s meet the station” (に). You probably want the former.

  2. As far as I understand, に pinpoints a place you are going to or are already at, while で describes a method of doing something (e.g. “by way of”).

    「駅で会いましょう」

    “Let’s meet at the train station”

    「駅に会いましょう」

    “Let’s meet by way of the train station”

    Here is an article to explain further:
    https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/ni-vs-de/

    Hope this was helpful!

  3. Both particles do A LOT of different things.

    に generally focuses on things.

    – when an action takes place at certain times or on certain dates – 木曜日に会います。Meet *ON* Thursday.

    – verbs showing motion – 駅に行きます。 Go *TO* the station.

    – verbs for entering or boarding – 駅に入ります。電車に乗ります。 Go *INTO* the station. Get *ON TO* the train.

    – verbs showing unilateral (one-sided) approach – 先生に会います。先生に聞きます。*GO* meet (or *RUN INTO*) a teacher. Ask (questions) *TO* a teacher.

    – verbs showing location – 東京にいます。Be *IN* Tokyo.

    – verbs where the action is something long term or doesn’t require a lot of movement – 大阪に住んでいます。大学に勤めています。友だちのアパートに留まります。Live *IN* Osaka. Be employed *AT* a university. Spend the night *AT* a friend’s apartment.

    で, in this case, is used for more flamboyant actiony-actions – 駅で会います。図書館で本を読みます。Meet *AT* the station. Read books *AT* the library.

    This should contain all, if not most of the ways に is used as described above:

    私はマイク・スミスです。今、大阪の大学に勤めています。大学で英語を教えています。大阪駅の近くに住んでいます。

    (I’m Mike Smith. I’m employed at a university in Osaka now. I teach English at the university. I live near Osaka Station.)

    週末に東京に住んでいる友だちに会います。友だちのアパートに泊まる予定です。

    (On the weekend I will meet a friend who is living in Tokyo. I plan to stay at their apartment.)

    私は東京駅への新幹線に乗ったら、山田先生に会いました。山田先生は私にどうして東京に行くかと聞きました。東京にいるうちに明治大学の図書館で研究しなければならないと答えました。

    (When I got on the bullet train to Tokyo, I ran into Professor Yamada. He asked me why I was going to Tokyo. I answered that I needed to do research at the Meiji University’s library while I was in Tokyo.)

  4. de restricts an action, wherever that be a place or what tool is used or how many people are involved

  5. In french we like to say で is marking a place when something is happening like “レストランで食べる” and に is marking a place when nothing is happening like “レストランに行く”.

    You can’t go anywhere if you’re already at the place you want to go, right.And you can’t eat at the restorant if you’re not in.

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