Beginner Japanese · Lesson 12
Destinations and Transport in Japanese
Say where someone is going and how they travel with checked destination and transport sentences.
Japanese first
Start with one complete destination sentence
Say where you are going
Reading: えきにいきます。
This sentence gives you a useful capability immediately: you can name a destination and say that you are going there. First meet the destination words; then we will look at the marker inside this exact sentence.
Meet four useful destinations
Learn these as places someone can go. The Kana readings support the natural Japanese spellings.
New word
駅
station
New word
公園
park
New word
病院
hospital
New word
空港
airport
Bring back two movement verbs and meet one new verb
行く and 来る are review. 帰る is the one new movement verb in this group.
Review
行く
to go
Review
来る
to come
New word
帰る
to return; to go home
Checked forms for this lesson
Use these polite movement forms as complete forms
The left side shows the dictionary identity. The right side shows the verified polite form used in this lesson. This is a short authored list, not a rule for changing every verb.
- Review行く
- 行きますto go
- Review来る
- 来ますto come
- New帰る
- 帰りますto return; to go home
Build a sentence
Mark a movement destination with に
Destination に／へ + Vます
In these movement sentences, に marks the destination. Keep that job with the checked movement pattern shown here rather than treating に as one English word.
The action at the end is a supported movement form: 行きます,来ます, or 帰ります. This lesson does not extend destination に to every verb.
Destination with に
Reading: えきにいきます。
Destination with に
Reading: くうこうにいきます。
A second destination marker
Use へ in the same checked movement frame
Destination with へ
Reading: こうえんへいきます。
In the movement sentences taught here, へ can also mark where someone is going. It can place a little more attention on the direction or movement toward the destination. That does not make に andへ interchangeable in every Japanese sentence.
Check your recall
Retrieve a destination sentence
Use the complete movement frames you just saw. Do not try to derive a new verb form.
駅___行きます。Complete the first station sentence with its destination marker.
Show the complete sentence
駅に行きます。I go to the station. Here, に marks the destination.
公園へ行きます。Which particle is written here, and how is it pronounced?
Show the writing and pronunciation
へ → えWrite the particle as へ and pronounce it like え in this sentence.
Say “I go to the airport” with the checked に model.
Show the destination sentence
空港に行きます。Keep 空港に together as the destination part of this movement sentence.
帰るRecall the checked polite form paired with 帰る.
Show the checked form
帰りますThis is the authored polite form used here, not a general conjugation rule.
Meet a compact transport set
These five words name common ways of travelling. Learn the Japanese words before putting で after them.
New word
バス
bus
New word
電車
train
New word
タクシー
taxi
New word
車
car; vehicle
New word
飛行機
airplane
Build a sentence
Say how you travel with で
Transport で + destination に／へ + movement action
Here, で marks how you travel. It follows the transport word in these movement sentences; it is not a universal translation of ‘by’.
Read each sentence in two useful parts: the transport with で, then the destination with に or へ. The movement action finishes the sentence.
Transport with で
Reading: タクシーでいえにかえります。
Transport with で
Reading: くるまでびょういんへいきます。
A short conversation
Where are you going?
Read how each answer says where the person is going and how they will travel.
Speaker B
どこへ行きますか。
Reading: どこへいきますか。
Meaning: Where are you going?
Speaker A
バスで学校に行きます。
Reading: バスでがっこうにいきます。
Meaning: I go to school by bus.
Speaker A
どこに行きますか。
Reading: どこにいきますか。
Meaning: Where are you going?
Speaker B
飛行機で日本に行きます。
Reading: ひこうきでにほんにいきます。
Meaning: I go to Japan by plane.
Notice
- In these answers, に or へ points to the destination.
- In these answers, で tells you how the person travels.
Change the trip
Try タクシー for the transport or 空港 for the destination, then say the sentence again.
A second bounded job for で
Use で for the place where an action happens
Action place with で
Reading: こうえんでおんがくをききます。
In this action sentence, 公園で marks the place where listening happens. This is separate from transport で, even though the same written particle appears in both patterns.
Existence に and action-place で do different jobs
- Locate someone who exists there
- 学校に先生がいます。
- がっこうにせんせいがいます。
- Lesson 11 uses に for the place of existence.
- Locate an action happening there
- 公園で音楽を聞きます。
- こうえんでおんがくをききます。
- This lesson uses で for the place of an action.
Meet the verbs for getting on and getting off
Learn the dictionary identities first. Their complete travel phrases use a carefully checked particle pattern.
New word
乗る
to get on; to ride
The checked polite form used later is 乗ります.
New word
降りる
to get off; to disembark
The checked polite form used later is 降ります.
Keep two whole travel phrases
Use 乗る and 降りる only inside these checked models
These polite forms are verified whole forms. The pairs below do not show a method for changing other verbs.
- 乗る
- 乗りますto get on; to ride
- 降りる
- 降りますto get off; to disembark
Checked boarding phrase
Reading: えきででんしゃにのります。
Keep 電車に乗ります together for now. In the whole sentence,駅で marks where the boarding action happens. Do not replace the に in this checked boarding phrase with transportで.
Checked getting-off phrase
Reading: えきでおります。
Keep 駅で降ります as the complete model. Here,駅で marks where the getting-off action happens. Broader particle patterns for 降りる are outside this lesson.
Check your recall
Retrieve transport and action-place で
Decide what job the particle has inside the complete sentence before opening the answer.
Say “I go to school by bus” with the checked model.
Show the transport sentence
バスで学校に行きます。バスで marks how you travel; 学校に marks the destination.
公園で音楽を聞きます。What does で mark in this sentence?
Show the particle job
It marks the place where the listening action happens.
Which marker belongs to a place of existence, and which to a place of action?
Show the contrast
に ／ でLesson 11 uses に for the place of existence; this lesson uses で for the place of an action.
Recall the complete checked phrase for boarding a train at the station.
Show the whole travel phrase
駅で電車に乗ります。Keep 電車に乗ります together; this is not the transport-means で pattern.
Keep the sentence jobs separate
One written particle can have a different job in a different pattern
Retrieve the complete sentence, not an English substitute for the particle. These are the four bounded jobs the course has taught so far.
- Specific time · Lesson 10
- 午後三時に休みます。
- に marks the specific time in this action sentence.
- Place of existence · Lesson 11
- 学校に先生がいます。
- に marks where the teacher exists.
- Movement destination · Lesson 12
- 駅に行きます。／公園へ行きます。
- に or へ marks the destination in these movement sentences.
- Transport or action place · Lesson 12
- バスで学校に行きます。／公園で音楽を聞きます。
- で marks how you travel in the first sentence and where the action happens in the second.
Lesson summary
Build the destination first, then add the journey
- Use destination に or へ only with the checked movement frame taught here.
- Write particle へ as へ and pronounce it like え.
- Use transport で to say how someone travels.
- In an action sentence, で can instead mark where that action happens.
- Keep 電車に乗ります and 駅で降ります as verified whole travel phrases for now.