Ni vs de in Japanese: location, actions and destinations
Use に to locate a person or thing with います／あります, and で to say where an action happens. 公園にいます。 means “I am at the park”; 公園で本を読みます。 means “I read a book at the park.” For the destination in “I go to the park,” use に: 公園に行きます。
In this article
Three roles a place can have in a sentence
English prepositions do not map neatly onto Japanese particles. Decide whether the place locates someone or something, hosts an action, or serves as a destination. The place name alone does not tell you which particle to choose.
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| Meaning | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Where someone or something is | place＋に＋います／あります | 公園にいます。 I am at the park. |
| Where an action happens | place＋で＋action | 公園で本を読みます。 I read a book at the park. |
| Where someone goes | place＋に＋行きます | 公園に行きます。 I go to the park. |
One park, three different statements
The park can locate a person, host a reading activity, or be a destination. Compare the three complete sentences first, then use the person, book and arrow in the diagrams below to check each role.
1. に with います or あります: locating someone or something
公園にいます。 tells you where someone is, without saying what they are doing. Use います for people and animals; あります can locate an object, as in 入口に傘があります。 (“There is an umbrella at the entrance”). In both examples, に marks a location of presence.
2. で with an action: saying where it happens
In 公園で本を読みます。, the action is reading. The park is where the reading happens, so it takes で. 本を identifies what is read, while 読みます is a polite form of “read.” Explore the place and object together in our worked example of を and で.
3. に with 行きます: naming a destination
In 公園に行きます。, the park is the destination. Going is an action too, so “use で whenever a verb involves action” would give the wrong result. Ask what the place contributes to this sentence: where something happens, or where someone is going.
- Presence: に
公園にいます。
I am at the park. - An action: で
公園で本を読みます。
I read a book at the park. - A destination: に
公園に行きます。
I go to the park.
Arimasu can describe an event, too
入口に傘があります。 locates an umbrella. By contrast, 公園でイベントがあります。 means “There is an event at the park”: the park is where the event takes place, so it uses で. The ending あります does not always require に.
Likewise, 公園で本を読んでいます。 means “I am reading a book at the park.” Read 読んでいます as a complete verb phrase describing reading in progress. Do not mistake its ending for the standalone います that locates a person.
This guide covers these location relationships. Both particles have other uses: に can mark time, for example, while で can mark a tool or means of transport. The comparison here is not a rule for every occurrence of either particle.
Practice: choose the particle after the place
Read each whole sentence, choose a particle, then open the explanation. The last question tests an event rather than the location of an object.
公園（ ）友だちがいます。 (“My friend is at the park.”)
Choose first, then check the explanation.
Show explanation
公園に友だちがいます。 uses に for the location of your friend. 友だち is read ともだち and means friend.
公園（ ）写真を撮ります。 (“I take photos at the park.”)
Choose first, then check the explanation.
Show explanation
公園で写真を撮ります。 uses で for the place of the action. 写真を撮ります (しゃしんをとります) means to take photos.
公園（ ）イベントがあります。 (“There is an event at the park.”)
Choose first, then check the explanation.
Show explanation
公園でイベントがあります。 uses で for the event venue. This is why choosing a particle by あります alone can fail.
Ask Maho about the particle in the original sentence
Add a photo or text to Maho’s Japanese analysis, check the source text, then read the vocabulary and grammar notes. Ask Maho AI whether the place in your sentence is a location of presence, the setting for an action, or a destination—and what would change with the other particle.
Include the whole sentence instead of asking about a particle in isolation. AI explanations can be wrong; the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies grammar references below provide further checks. For structured study, explore JLPT N5–N1 vocabulary and grammar lessons.