Activities: "How to use the particle に (ni) in Japanese?"

Remember the Mad Libs game you played in childhood? In the blanks below, you’ll fill in whatever comes to mind as long as it follows what’s written in the parentheses! For example, if the parentheses indicate that they want a noun, you can write down anything as long as it’s a noun (i.e., cat). Then you’ll translate whatever wacky sentence you get into Japanese. Don’t think too hard about what word to choose and have fun with it! For example:

As we’ve learned, the particle に is often confused with other particles. At times it’s difficult to determine which particle is more appropriate in a sentence. Now, using what we learned in the article you’ll be choosing the particle that best fits in the blank! You’ll be provided the sentence in both Japanese and English, so use context clues to see which particle will fit the sentences the best. Select the correct Japanese particle from the two in parentheses.

1. 忘れた宿題はそこ（ に ・ で ）あるよ。 Wasureta shukudai wa soko (ni・de) aru yo. The homework you forgot is there.

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2. 僕は世界中を旅して北極（ に ・ を ）行くんだ！ Boku wa sekaijū o tabi shite hokkyoku (ni・o) ikunda! I’m gonna travel the whole world and go to the North Pole!

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3. 今日は先生（ に ・ を ）進学について聞きました。 Kyō wa sensei (ni・o) shingaku ni tsuite kikimashita. Today I asked my teacher about going on to higher education.

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4. 10時（ に ・ で ）駅前（ に ・ で ）集合だよ。 Jū ji (ni・de) ekimae (ni・de) shūgō da yo. We are meeting (gathering) in front of the station at 10 o’clock.

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5. 学校から家（ に ・ へ ）の帰り道に大きな犬がいる。 Gakkō kara ie (ni・e) no kaerimichi ni ōkina inu ga iru. There is a large dog on the path home from school.

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6. 友達とこの家（ に ・ で ）住んでいます。 Tomodachi to kono ie (ni・de) sunde imasu. I live in this house with my friend.

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7. 今（ に ・ no particle ）東京駅から電話しています。 Ima (ni・ no particle ) Tōkyō eki kara denwa shite imasu. I’m calling from Tokyo Station now.

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8. 韓国（ に ・ で ）留学することにしました。 Kankoku (ni・de) ryūgakusuru koto ni shimashita. I decided to study in South Korea.

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9. 階段（ に ・ を ）上って二階（ に ・ で ）来た。 Kaidan (ni・o) nobotte nikai (ni・de) kita. I climbed the stairs and came to the second floor.

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