Activities: "What are some tricky particle pairs in Japanese?"

By: Akiko Kashiwagi-Wood

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These activities are part of our Japanese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Choose the appropriate particle

The following text is a diary entry. Choose the appropriate particle based on the choices given.

7月○日（土曜日）

今日の午後は、友達（1 !に・!と）出かける約束をしていた。天気がよくて暑かったから、プール（2 !まで・!へ）行った。プールには、人がたくさん来ていて、とても混んでいた。だから、プールサイド（3 !を・!から）歩いている時、座っていた子供（4 !に・!と）ぶつかって、遊んでいたおもちゃを壊してしまった。「まずい」と思ってその子の親（5 !に・!と）謝りに行った。その子供の親は気にしなくていいと言ってくれたから、ほっとした。

Kyō no gogo wa, tomodachi (ni/to) dekakeru yakusoku o shite ita. Tenki ga yokute atsukatta kara, pūru (made/e) itta. Pūru ni wa, hito ga takusan kiteite, totemo kondeita. Dakara, pūrusaido (o/kara) aruite iru toki, suwatte ita kodomo (ni/to) butsukatte, asonde ita omocha o kowashite shimatta. “Mazui” to omotte Sonokodomo no oya (ni/to) ayamari ni itta. Sonoko no oya wa ki ni shinakute ii to ittekureta kara, hotto shita.

This afternoon, I had a plan to hang out with my friend. The weather was nice and hot, so we went to the swimming pool. A lot of people were at the pool, and it was very crowded. So, when I was walking across the poolside, I bumped into a child who was sitting and broke the toy he was playing with. I thought it was bad, so I went to apologize to the child's parent. I was relieved that the child's parents told me not to worry about it.

プール（6 !を・!で）出た後、そこ（7 !から・!より）１０分ぐらいのところにあるレストラン（8 !に・!まで）行って、晩ご飯を食べた。レストラン（9 !を・!で）食べた後、ちょっと遠回りをして夜景がきれいな公園（10 !を・!で）歩いて、駅（11 !に・!まで）向かった。家に帰ってきたのは、午後10半時ぐらいだった。今日はいい一日だった。

Pūru (o/de) deta ato, soko (kara/yori) jyuppun hodo no tokoro ni aru resutoran (ni/made) itte, bangohan o tabeta. Resutoran (o/de) tabeta ato, chotto tōmawari o shite yakei ga kireina kōen (o/made) aruite, eki (ni/made) mukatta. Uchi ni kaette kita no wa, gogo jyūji sanjyuppun gurai datta. Kyō wa ii ichinichi datta.

After leaving the pool, we went to a restaurant, which was about 10 minutes away from there, and had dinner. After eating at the restaurant, we took a detour and walked through the park which has a beautiful night view and headed to the station. When I got home, it was about 10:30 p.m. Today was a nice day.

Activity 2:

Our assistant Tim translated a few short sentences into Japanese. But alas! Tim made quite a few mistakes with the particles! Help us correct the particles where necessary based on the translation. If the highlighted particle is incorrect, put the correct particle in the space on the right. If it is correct, leave it blank.

When I was a kid, I often walked along this road.
→
子供のころ、よくこの道を歩いた。
Kodomo no koro, yoku kono michi o aruita.
Correct. The particle を in a sentence indicates a point or a location through which the motion passes.
I plan to move to a new house in April.
→
四月に新しい家まで引っ越すつもりです。
Shigatsu ni atarashii ie made hikkosu tsumori desu.
まで → に. The particle に marks the final destination or location.
Mari graduated from college last year and got a job.
→
真里さんは去年大学から出て、就職した。
Mari-san wa kyonen daigaku kara dete, shūshokushita.
から → を. 大学を出る means “graduate from college.”
When I was waiting outside, Takashi came out of the house.
→
外で待っていたら、隆さんが家から出てきた。
Soto de matteitara, Takashi-san ga uchi kara detekita.
Correct. The particle から indicates a starting point. Another possible answer is the particle を, which also indicates a starting point.
The plane left the airport.
→
飛行機が空港を出発した。
Hikōki ga kūkō o shuppatsushita.
Correct. The particle を indicates a starting point. Another possible answer is the particle から, which also indicates a starting point.
I want to go somewhere with you.
→
君とどこかへ行きたい。
Kimi to dokoka e ikitai.
Correct. (I) want to go somewhere with you.
The water overflows from the cup.
→
コップを水があふれる。
Koppu o mizu ga afureru.
を → から. When the particle を indicates a starting point, it is usually paired with motion verbs which happen in an instant. The verb あふれる(overflow) implies that the action is over an extended period of time. Therefore, から is appropriate.
I let the dog out of the kennel for a walk.
→
散歩のために犬を小屋から出す。
Sanpo no tame ni, inu o koya kara dasu.
Correct. The particle を indicates a starting point. Another possible answer is the particle から, which also indicates a starting point.
Max married Midori.
→
マックスさんはみどりさんに結婚した。
Max-san wa Midori-san ni kekkonshita.
に → と. You need two people to get married.
Does this train stop at Nagoya Station?
→
この電車は名古屋駅に止まりますか。
Kono densha wa Nagoyaeki ni tomarimasu ka.
Correct. The particle に marks the final destination or location. In this sentence, the particle へ is awkward because of the noun, 名古屋駅(Nagoya Station) and the verb, 止まる(to stop). 名古屋駅 is a specific location and 止まる focuses on the destination where the train is stopping. The particle へ, which indicates the general direction (toward the location), doesn’t work together well.
We sincerely wish you every success from the bottom of our hearts.
→
心からご成功をお祈り申し上げます。
Kokoro kara goseikō o oinori mōshiagemasu.
→ humble
Okay, but not the best. The particle より is more appropriate here because of the humble language. In fact, the sentence 心よりご成功をお祈り申し上げます is a set phrase that is frequently used to wish someone a good luck in formal situations.
The product that I ordered on the internet was delivered to my house.
→
インターネットで注文した商品が家まで届いた。
Intānetto de chūmonshita shōhin ga uchi made todoita.
まで → に. The particle に marks the final destination or location.
This strawberry is sweeter than that one.
→
このいちごの方がそっちのいちごから甘い。
Kono ichigo no hou ga socchi no ichigo kara amai.
から → より. This sentence is comparing this strawberry vs. that strawberry for it’s sweetness. The particle より is not interchangeable with the particle から in a comparison sentence.
The typhoon is heading north.
→
台風は北へ向かっている。
Taifū wa kita e mukatteiru.
Correct. The particle へ indicates a general direction (toward 北). The particle に is also possible in this sentence, but に indicates a specific destination.
I talk to my parents about my academic path.
→
進学について両親と話す。
Shingaku ni tsuite ryōshin to hanasu.
Correct, but you may also use に. Remember that the particle に indicates only an one-sided action whereas the particle と indicates mutual action.
It’s summer break from today!
→
今日より夏休みだ！
Kyō yori natuyasumi da!
より → から. This sentence is written in a casual speech style so より, which is used under formal, polite situations, isn’t appropriate.
The birds flew in the sky.
→
鳥が空で飛んだ。
Tori ga sora de tonda.
で → を. The particle を marks the thing that receives the action, which means that it treats the noun that it attaches to like an object. In 空を飛ぶ, 空(the sky) becomes the location of where birds are flying through. Choosing the particle で would imply the bird used the sky as a place to fly among all the other choices that the bird could fly.
It has started to rain so let’s run to the station.
→
雨が降ってきたから、駅に走りましょう。
Ame ga futtekita kara, eki ni hashirimashō.
に → まで. The particle まで implies that you go as far as the station to avoid getting wet. With に, it sounds unnatural because of the verb 走る(to run). The action 走る is something that lasts for a while and it does not imply any destination or goal which the particle に indicates. You might have thought about the particle へ: 駅へ走りましょう. However, へ, which shows a general direction, is also not smooth. The verb 走る (or 歩く) expresses how to move, focusing more on a route, or where you move along. There is a mismatch between the particle に/へ and the verb.

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