Direction Particle: へ

The へ (e) particle is very similar to the meaning of the に particle except you cannot use it to mark time or any other uses of に. As a particle, へ has an /e/ sound, just like how を is different. へ has some other uses but in this lesson, we'll just be looking at its use as a "direction" marker.

Using へ to Mark the Direction

The most common and basic usage of the へ particle is to mark the direction to a destination or goal an action takes; the word marked by へ is the destination and indicates someone or something is moving in the direction towards that destination. It can also indicate someone or something has already arrived.

The Difference between へ and に

Now, in all of the sentences in the previous section, we could easily replace へ with に and they would still mean the same thing in English. However, in Japanese, using へ adds a little more meaning than just "to". Take the following two examples, both are grammatically correct and translate the same:

1. 学校へ行く

   gakkou e iku

   I am going to school

2. 学校に行く

   gakkou ni iku

   I am going to school

In sentence (1), the へ particle indicates the direction of movement towards the school; the focus is on the destination or goal of the action. In this case, the speaker is emphasizing that they are going "towards" or "in the direction of" the school rather than where their final destination will be.

In sentence (2), the に particle indicates the school as the specific destination; the focus is on the location itself rather than the direction of movement. In this case, the speaker is emphasizing that they are going "to" school rather than the route taken to get there.

As you may remember, に describes a state of existence or being; that is to say, where something or someone is, was or will be existing at a specific location.

The easiest way to remember this is that へ has a sense of direction of moving "towards" or "in the direction of" some-place rather than the destination itself, while に refers to that exact, specific destination; if we were to rephrase the English translation, you may be able to tell the difference much better:

1. へ => I am going towards school
2. に => I am going to the school

Here, へ is just saying we are going "in the direction of" the school but not necessarily stating that this is our final destination; に is indicating that a some point, we will exist at the target destination, the school.

Using へ to Mark the Recipient

The other common use of the へ particle is to mark the recipient of an action; this is very similar to the indirect object in English. In the following example sentences, 友達 (a friend) is the recipient:

In the last example, even though "I" may be the one receiving the package, へ emphasises that 友達 (a friend) is the actual recipient of the package.

Also, you may have noticed that へ indicates the direction of the action (to the person receiving). However, へ alone does not imply whether the recipient has actually received anything.

Another use of the へ particle may be seen in letters or even formal emails, for example: "Nameへ"; this is very similar in English to "Dear Name", "To Name" or "Hi Name".

へ Without a Predicate

As you know, if something is obvious from context, it is generally unspoken in Japanese unless it needs to be made clearer. There are times when へ is used but there is no action verb to say anything about it. This is because the listener most likely already understands what is being talked about.

As you may have noticed, this is similar to how the predicate was dropped when using the を particle and may be seen used like this with other particles too.

Additional Notes

Related Lessons and References

Here is a list of other pages as a reference of what else you may be interested in reading: