に, で, を, へ — the core particles

2026-10-16

In Japanese, small words called particles do the job that case endings do in Mongolian (-д, -аас, -ыг, -руу, -аар and so on). The big difference is that Japanese particles are separate words and there is no vowel harmony.

を — the object

を marks the direct object. It matches the Mongolian accusative «-ыг/-ийг».

パンを食べます。

I eat bread. (を is pronounced “o”.)

It also marks the route you move through: 道を歩きます (I walk along the road).

に — a point in time or space, a recipient

に marks a specific point:

Time: 七時に起きます. I get up at seven.
Where something exists: 東京にいます. I am in Tokyo.
Destination: 学校に行きます. I go to school.
Recipient: 友達にあげます. I give it to a friend.

で — where an event happens, means

Place of action: 学校で勉強します. I study at school.
Means: バスで行きます. I go by bus. (like the Mongolian instrumental «-аар»)
Material: 木で作ります. I make it out of wood.

へ — direction

へ (pronounced “e”) marks direction: 日本へ行きます. I go to Japan, like Mongolian «-руу». With verbs of going it is often interchangeable with に:

京都へ行きます。 / 京都に行きます。

へ stresses direction, に stresses the destination point.

Comparison with Mongolian cases

Japanese	Mongolian	Example
を	-ыг, -ийг	本を読む — read a book
に (time, point)	-д, -т	三時に — at three
で (place)	-д, дээр	家で — at home
で (means)	-аар	電車で — by train
へ	-руу	駅へ — toward the station

Common mistakes

に vs で: Mongolian «-д» covers both. For the place where an action happens use で: ✕ 図書館に勉強します → ○ 図書館で勉強します. For existence (いる, ある) use に.
Dropping を: say 水を飲みます, not 水飲みます. Speech sometimes drops it, but keep it while learning.
Reading へ as “he”: as a particle it is “e”.
で with a destination: ✕ 学校で行きます → ○ 学校に/へ行きます.
Adding に to every time word: 7時に yes, but 今日 and 明日 usually take no に.

A quick check

Ask yourself: is it where an action happens, a destination, or a means? Place of action is で, destination is に/へ, and the object is を.

See the grammar section for more patterns. It helps to read は vs が first.