に vs へ – The Difference between e and ni

There are two Japanese particle に and へ which basically mean the same thing. In most situations they are interchangeable and you could probably get away with out even using へ most of the time. So, if you are wondering to yourself, why are there two words for basically the same thing, try not to worry too much about it.

https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/

But if you are interested about when to use に vs へ let’s take a look.

When to use に vs へ

The first thing to know is that に has many more usages than just telling direction. へ on the other hand, only refers to direction. For that reason, here we are only going to compare に with へ when talking about direction. If you are interested though you can learn more about everything に can do in に in Japanese.

に in Japanese, the Particle with the most Usages

The particle に in Japanese can tell you a range of things from time, place, direction, purpose, and ...

Japanese Universe

に and へ are both particles. So, they come after nouns. There are two situations though where へ should be used instead of に. First, the particle の can not follow に. In this situation you will always use へ instead.

イギリスへの飛行機ひこうき
an airplane to the United Kingdom

Next, when writing letters, you use へ after the name of the addressee.

ジョンへ
to John

Other than these two situations, に and へ are pretty much interchangeable.

https://japaneseuniverse.com/2021/01/17/%e3%81%b8-in-japanese-the-particle-for-direction/

But, even if you can pick either of the particles, there are slight difference in nuances between the two.

What is the Difference between に and へ

The basic difference between に vs へ is that に refers to specific destinations and へ refers to direction.

に is for Intentional or Specific Destinations

When we use に then the focus is on the destination. The destination is the noun that に follows. So, let’s say we are going to Osaka.

大阪おおさかに行いく
I am going to Osaka

Here, we are focusing on the destination and not the trip to Osaka. に is the better choice to use for situations when we want to talk about a specific place. Using に shows more intention on going to that place than if we were to use へ.

友達ともだちの家いえに行く
I am going to a friends house

Above, we are talking about going to a friends house. Since this is an intentional act it is better to use に. It is ok to use へ in either of the situations though.

へ is for Direction or Route

If we use へ it has more a sense of heading in this direction. The focus is still not only on the destination but the direction toward the destination.

大阪へ行く
I am going to Osaka

Above we took the same sentence as before but only switched に with へ. The sentence means the same thing but has a sense of, I am heading for Osaka, at the same time as going to Osaka.

へ does not have the focus on the intention of getting to the destination like に does. It actually has a sense of being less intentional. For that reason it is the better particle to use when talking about hurricanes, or other natural phenomena.

竜巻たつまきが南みなみへ向むかっている
a tornado is heading south

In the above situation, the tornado does not intend on going south but is just sort of going in that direction.

Resources

• に – Weblio
• へ – Weblio
• 方向を表す「に」と「へ」
• 助詞「に」「へ」の使い分け – 文章の鬼
• 2,110 Pages, No Word Wasted – A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, Reviewed