Going somewhere: へ・に
Place へ／に いきます
Destination へ／に + 行きます・来ます・かえります. へ = direction, に = arrival: both work almost every time.
In short
With verbs of movement (いく, くる, かえる), へ (pronounced “e”) or に marks the destination. Both are correct; へ stresses the direction.
- 日本へ いきます。nihon e ikimasuI'm going to Japan.
- がっこうに きます。gakkō ni kimasuI come to school.
- いえへ かえります。ie e kaerimasuI'm going home.
The basics
With verbs of movement (行きます, 来ます, かえります), the destination takes へ (pronounced “e”) or に. The two are almost always interchangeable: へ stresses the direction, に the arrival point.
- 日本へ 行きます。nihon e ikimasuI'm going to Japan.
- うちに かえります。uchi ni kaerimasuI'm going home.
The three verbs of movement
行きます (to go), 来ます (to come) and かえります (to go back, home or to your country) are the basic trio. The point of view matters: 来ます means coming towards where the speaker is.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 行きます | to go | 駅へ 行きます |
| 来ます | to come | 日本へ 来ました |
| かえります | to go back | 国へ かえります |
With whom, how, when
You can combine freely: time + means (で) + companion (と) + destination (へ) + verb.
- あした ともだちと バスで きょうとへ 行きます。ashita tomodachi to basu de kyōto e ikimasuTomorrow, I'm going to Kyoto by bus with a friend.
Nowhere: どこ（へ）も
For “I'm not going anywhere”, you say どこへも 行きません. The details come later with なにも・だれも.
Common mistakes
- Reading へ as “he”: as a particle, it's said “e”.
- Putting を after the destination: you say 学校へ 行きます, not 学校を.
- Using で for the destination: で is the place of an action, not where you're going.
5 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N5 point is on the Asakusa Line (Actions) of the Tokyo subway.