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I'm pretty confused about the に particle and I hope to receive some clarification.

1.彼は私に本をくれました。

2.私は母にしかられた。

In the first sentence, the に particle is used to indicate the target, which is 私. So I know the sentence means "He gave me the book."

However, the に particle is used to indicate the source in the second sentence, so it means "I was scolded by my mother."

So my question is, how can I tell if the に particle is indicating a target or a source? Do I have to solely rely on context? Or am I having a major misunderstanding of the particle itself here?

Lin
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  • 叱られる is the passive form of the verb 叱る. http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/causepass – strawberry jam Apr 02 '16 at 13:29
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    @strawberryjam So does the に particle only indicates the source when a passive verb is used? Or does it also apply to causative verbs...? – Lin Apr 02 '16 at 14:47
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    That's a different question altogether. It's too broad to explain in 1 answer as well. I suggest reviewing past questions on this topic: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/particle-ni – strawberry jam Apr 02 '16 at 14:57
  • @strawberryjam I see, thanks for the advice. It looks like the に particle is a lot more ambiguous than I thought. – Lin Apr 02 '16 at 15:22
  • You have to judge it from context. – user4092 Jun 08 '16 at 10:34

1 Answers1

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If you are using a passive verb (a verb that ends in られる), に is generally used as the Source. If it's a verb that is not passive (such as 行く), に would be the target/destination particle. Context clues help as well. It makes sense to eat a McDonald's hamburger (マックを食べる) than to be eaten by one (マックに食べられる).

Retro Gamer
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    マク -> 普通は、「マック」ですかね・・　(関西では「マクド」ですけど) – chocolate Jun 08 '16 at 08:09
  • Right, so in America we eat "McDonalds", but that sounds funny in japanese. When I say マク in this case, I am referring to a hamburger, or "Big mac". – Retro Gamer Jun 08 '16 at 14:46
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    Hmm? Sorry I don't really understand what you're trying to say, I just thought the マク in your post was a typo; we Japanese usually call McDonald's as マック in Kanto, マクド in Kansai, we don't call it マク, and we also often say マックを食べる in Kanto or マクドを食べる in Kansai to mean "eat a McDonald's hamburger." – chocolate Jun 08 '16 at 15:05
  • Oh i see. Ill edit my answer to clear up the confusion. Thank you very much! – Retro Gamer Jun 08 '16 at 15:07
  • Can you say マクドに食べに行きます？ – debrucey Jun 08 '16 at 15:53
  • Interesting. マック in this case refers exactly to hamburger or can it be other type of burger as well? – kuchitsu Jun 08 '16 at 19:04
  • Just a McDonald's hamburger. A ハンバーガー is hamburger in Japanese, and ハンバーグ for a hamburger steak. – Retro Gamer Jun 08 '16 at 19:18