Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY

This month, you’ll learn about the particle “ni,” which has several different usages. The first usage is to introduce a DESTINATION. “Ni” is often used with verbs that indicate the action of moving to another place, such as “ikimasu,” “kimasu,” and “kaerimasu.”

For example:
Tokyo-eki ni ikimasu.
(I am going to Tokyo Station.)
Uchi ni kaerimasu. (I’m going home.)

As you can see, “ni” is used after the noun that indicates a place.

The second use of “ni” is to indicate TIME. If you would like to say “at five o’clock,” for example, it would be “go-ji ni” (“go” = 5). So if you wanted to say “I will go to Tokyo Station at five o’clock,” it would be, “Go-ji ni Tokyo-eki ni ikimasu.”

The first “ni” introduces time, and the second one indicates destination in this sentence.

In its third use, “ni” is paired with the verb “arimasu” or “imasu” to introduce a LOCATION.
For example:
Neko ga niwa ni imasu.
(There is a cat in the garden.)
Yuubinkyoku ga ginkou no mae ni arimasu.
(There is a post office in front of the bank.)

The fourth usage of “ni” is to introduce a PURPOSE. Supaice o ryouri ni tsukaimasu.
(I use spices for cooking.)
Jishin no genba ni tetsudai ni ikimashita.
(I went to the earthquake site to help.)

In the second sentence, the first “ni” introduces the destination and the second one indicates the purpose of the action.

In its fifth usage, “ni” is often used with the verb “narimasu” or “kawarimasu” to indicate a RESULT.

For example:
Ame ga yuki ni narimashita.
(The rain turned to snow.)

There are additional usages for “ni,” but this is enough for now. Until next month, practice the patterns you have just learned.

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New Words
tsukaimasu: v. to use, to employ (dictionary form: tsukau, -te form: tsukatte)
jishin: n. earthquake
genba: n. scene, site, spot
tetsudai: n. help, support
narimasu: v. to become, to turn (dictionary form: naru, -te form: natte)
kawarimasu: v. to change (dictionary form: kawaru, -te form: kawatte)