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First off I'm a newbie and I'm only learning the language not the writing system so please dont edit this into Japanese or respond in Japanese, I won't be able to get it.

So I have this sentence: Gakko ni ikimasu.

Shouldn't ni be a location particle? Shouldn't it be more correct to use e, since e indicates direction?

Ni should be used to mean that something is in a particular location as I understand it. So, like: Gakko ni toshokan ga arimasu.

Thanks in advance for the answer.

Rommel Bagasina
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1 Answers1

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First, I would like to apologize if there has any mistake in my English grammar.

As you said, "e" means the direction, but the meaning of "ni" is not just about "location of someone or something". It can also mean "target or destination". So, both of "gakkou e ikimasu" and "gakkou ni ikimasu" are correct.

But, the point of "e" will be on "direction", and the point of "ni" will be on "destination".

"Gakkou e ikimasu" means "go to school", and "gakkou ni ikimasu" means "the place you go is school".

Hope this answer will help you on your Japanese learning ;)

Inori
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    "Gakkou ni ikimasu" doesn't mean "the place you want to go is school". – aguijonazo Jul 18 '23 at 01:41
  • @aguijonazo Hi, thanks for you comment. The reason I wrote "the place you want to go is school" in my explanation is that I wanted to emphasize "school" but not the "direction". It is true that "gakkou e ikimasu" and "gakkou ni ikimasu" all mean "go to school", but the points they emphasize are not the same. Here is the paragraph about the difference between "e" and "ni". goodcross.com/words/22750-2021 – Inori Jul 18 '23 at 02:21