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Grammar detail: difference between で and に
My current mastery of this grammar:
The particles で and に can both be used as location and time indicators, and the difference between the two can sometimes be subtle.
For location, で is used to mark the location where an event occurred (ie, a focus on action). に is used to indicate object locations, destinations or directions (in the absence of a specific 'event'). For example:
- がっこう学校でべんきょう勉強しました I studied at school
- がっこう学校にほん本がたくさんあります there are many books in school
For time, で indicates the (range of) time within which an action takes place, whereas に indicates the specific time when an action is performed. For example:
- ほん本を３じかん時間でよ読み終[お]わった I finished reading the book in three hours
- ほん本を３じ時によ読みはじ始めた I began reading the book at 3 o'clock
Just as with English, sometimes these particles are roughly equivalent. In many cases, both can be translated with the English 'in', and even in Japanese, there are situations where using either can work. However, the emphasis is usually subtly different.
The following are some more subtle examples. Here, in the second example, the wall is the location where the event of writing takes place:
- 壁に書く write on a wall
- 壁で書く write at a wall
Here, the different particles imply a different object of focus in the sentence:
- て手でい入れる I put it in by hand
- て手にい入れる I put it in my hand
In this pair, the first sentence simply describes when you will perform the action, whereas the second implies that you could do it now, but instead will perform it later:
- あと後でやります I will do it later
- あと後にします I will do it at a later time = I will put it off till later
In this example, the に implies that the room you rented is in Kyoto, whereas the で implies that the action of renting took place in Kyoto:
- きょうと京都にへや部屋をか借りた I rented a room in Kyoto
- きょうと京都でへや部屋をか借りた I rented a room (while I was) in Kyoto
In this example, the English word 'in' is used in both cases. However, both English and Japanese would use word order to indicate the different emphasis:
- にほん日本でこめ米はたか高いです in Japan, rice is expensive
- にほん日本にたか高いこめ米があります there is expensive rice in Japan
One example that is commonly confusing for learners is the use of に with
す
住
む. Although in English we might think of 'the act of living', in Japanese it is not an action but a state of affairs, and thus takes に:- とうきょう東京にす住んでいます I live in Tokyo
Kanji used in this grammar
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