Verb Particles
を / に / へ / で
Use を, に, へ, and で to wire a verb up to its object, destination, direction, and the place or means by which it happens. Combined with the topic particles from earlier lessons, you can now build complete two- and three-particle sentences.
を — the direct object
を attaches to the noun that the verb acts on. 「さかな を たべる」 = "(I) eat fish." Written with the を kana but pronounced "o". With motion verbs (あるく, はしる, …) it can also mark the path being travelled: 「みち を あるく」 = "walk along the road."
に — the target / destination
に marks a precise endpoint. With motion verbs it's the destination: 「がっこう に いく」 = "go to school." With existence verbs (ある, いる) it's the location: 「いえ に いる」 = "be at home." With time words it pins down when: 「きょう に かえる」 = "go home today." With recipients: 「ともだち に おしえる」 = "teach (it) to a friend."
へ — direction (rather than destination)
へ marks general direction of movement and only works with directional verbs. 「がっこう へ いく」 stresses *heading toward* school rather than ending up there, while 「がっこう に いく」 stresses *arriving at* school. Written with the へ kana but pronounced "e". Cannot replace に for existence or time.
で — the context (place of action, means)
で marks the place where an action happens or the means used. 「いえ で たべる」 = "eat at home." 「バス で いく」 = "go by bus." 「ペン で かく」 = "write with a pen." Compare に (which marks the location of mere existence) versus で (the place where someone *does* something).
Stacking with は / も
に, へ, and で can be promoted to a topic by attaching は or も after them — 「がっこう に は いく」 emphasizes the school as the contrast topic. を, however, cannot stack with は/も: drop the を entirely if you want the object to be the topic. 「さかな は たべる」 (not 「さかな を は たべる」).
Vocabulary in this lesson
About the verb particles を, に, へ, and で
Once you can conjugate verbs, particles are what connect them to the rest of the sentence. This lesson covers the four that do the heavy lifting: を marks the direct object (what the verb acts on), に marks a precise target or destination, へ marks general direction, and で marks where an action happens or the means used. に and へ overlap for movement but carry different nuances, and に・へ・で can all be promoted to topics with は or も. Combined with the topic particles from earlier lessons, these let you build complete JLPT N5 sentences.
Frequently asked questions
What does the particle を do?
を marks the direct object — the thing the verb acts on. 「さかな を たべる」 means "(I) eat fish." It is written with the special を kana, used only as this particle, and pronounced "o."
What is the difference between に and へ?
Both can mark where you are going, but に points to a precise destination or endpoint (「がっこう に いく」 = "go to school"), while へ stresses the general direction of movement. に also covers recipients, times, and locations of existence; へ only works with directional verbs.
When do I use で?
で marks the place where an action happens or the means by which it is done. 「いえ で たべる」 = "eat at home"; 「バス で いく」 = "go by bus." Contrast this with に, which marks the destination rather than the location of the action.
Can I combine these particles with は or も?
Yes — に, へ, and で can be promoted to a topic by adding は or も after them. 「がっこう に は いく」 emphasises the school as the topic. を and が, however, are replaced by は/も rather than stacked with them.
Why is the object を written with a special kana?
The を kana is used almost exclusively as the object particle and is pronounced the same as お ("o"). Seeing を in a sentence is a reliable signal that the preceding noun is the object of the verb.
Credit
These lessons follow the structure, sequence, and grammar-first approach of Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese. We are grateful to Tae Kim for making his guide freely available; the explanations here are our own retelling, and the interactive drills are original to this site.