へ – Marking Direction ‘Toward’ in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

Meaning: The particle へ marks direction or “toward” a place or person. It points where something is headed, not where it arrives.

How to Use: Put へ after a place or person, before a verb of movement or sending.

Example:

• 月へ行きます。
• Tsuki e ikimasu.
• I go to the moon.

Overview

Use へ to show the direction of movement, like “toward” in English. It is common with simple movement verbs such as 行きます (ikimasu, to go), 来ます (kimasu, to come), and 帰ります (kaerimasu, to return). It can also point toward a person when you send or address something, with verbs like 送ります (okurimasu, to send) or 書きます (kakimasu, to write).

Important nuance: へ emphasizes the direction/route. The particle に usually emphasizes the exact destination/arrival. Both are correct in many cases, but the feeling is slightly different. As a beginner, you can safely use both with 行きます (ikimasu, to go); learn the nuance step by step.

Pronunciation tip: the particle へ is pronounced “e” (not “he”).

What へ does not do: it does not mark time (use に), and it does not mark the place where an action happens (use で). Also, for existence verbs like あります (arimasu, to exist for things) and います (imasu, to exist for people/animals), use に to mark location.

Structure / Formation

Base Patterns

• Place + へ + V (movement)
• Person + へ + N + を + V (send/say/write)
• N1 + から + N2 + へ + V (movement from N1 toward N2)

How It Works

With movement verbs such as 行きます (ikimasu, to go), 来ます (kimasu, to come), and 帰ります (kaerimasu, to return), へ shows where you are headed. Think of it as drawing an arrow from you toward the place. With sending or addressing verbs like 送ります (okurimasu, to send) and 書きます (kakimasu, to write), へ marks the receiver or target person.

Common Movement Verbs

Verb (ます-form)	Romaji	Meaning
行きます	ikimasu	to go
来ます	kimasu	to come
帰ります	kaerimasu	to return (go back)

Examples

• ペンギンは北へ走ります。
• Pengin wa kita e hashirimasu.
• The penguin runs toward the north.

• ロボットは先生へメールを送ります。
• Robotto wa sensei e mēru o okurimasu.
• The robot sends an email to the teacher.

Usage Tips

• Direction vs. arrival: へ feels like “toward,” に feels like “to (arrive at).” For beginners, both are fine with 行きます (ikimasu, to go); learn the nuance gradually.
• Pronunciation: The particle へ is read “e.”
• Letters and messages: You can address someone with “Name + へ” at the top of a letter or message to mean “To Name.”

Example Sentences

• サボテンは図書館へ行きます。
• Saboten wa toshokan e ikimasu.
• The cactus goes to the library.

• ドラゴンが家へ来ます。
• Doragon ga ie e kimasu.
• A dragon comes to my house.

• かめは学校から海へ帰ります。
• Kame wa gakkou kara umi e kaerimasu.
• The turtle returns from school to the sea.

• 金魚は山へ泳ぎません。
• Kingyo wa yama e oyogimasen.
• The goldfish does not swim toward the mountain.

• 妹へ手紙を書きました。
• Imouto e tegami o kakimashita.
• I wrote a letter to my little sister.

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the sentence that uses へ correctly to show direction.

• A. 猫は川へ走ります。 (Neko wa kawa e hashirimasu.)
• B. 猫は川で走ります。 (Neko wa kawa de hashirimasu.)
• C. 猫は川でも走ります。 (Neko wa kawa demo hashirimasu.)
• D. 猫は川と走ります。 (Neko wa kawa to hashirimasu.)

2. Choose the correct polite past sentence: “Yesterday, we went to the museum.”

• A. 昨日、私たちは博物館へ行きました。 (Kinou, watashitachi wa hakubutsukan e ikimashita.)
• B. 昨日、私たちは博物館で行きました。 (Kinou, watashitachi wa hakubutsukan de ikimashita.)
• C. 昨日、私たちは博物館と行きました。 (Kinou, watashitachi wa hakubutsukan to ikimashita.)
• D. 昨日、私たちは博物館や行きました。 (Kinou, watashitachi wa hakubutsukan ya ikimashita.)

3. Choose the correct way to address “To the teacher” at the top of a message.

• A. 先生へ。 (Sensei e.)
• B. 先生に。 (Sensei ni.)
• C. 先生で。 (Sensei de.)
• D. 先生と。 (Sensei to.)

4. Choose the sentence that correctly uses から and へ for movement.

• A. タコは学校から海へ帰ります。 (Tako wa gakkou kara umi e kaerimasu.)
• B. タコは学校から海で帰ります。 (Tako wa gakkou kara umi de kaerimasu.)
• C. タコは学校で海へ帰ります。 (Tako wa gakkou de umi e kaerimasu.)
• D. タコは学校から海へあります。 (Tako wa gakkou kara umi e arimasu.)

5. Choose the correct negative sentence with へ: “Grandma does not come to Tokyo.”

• A. 祖母は東京へ来ません。 (Sobo wa Toukyou e kimasen.)
• B. 祖母は東京で来ません。 (Sobo wa Toukyou de kimasen.)
• C. 祖母は東京と来ません。 (Sobo wa Toukyou to kimasen.)
• D. 祖母は東京に来ません。 (Sobo wa Toukyou ni kimasen.)

Spot-the-Error

6. One sentence has an error with へ. Which one is wrong?

• A. 猫は店へ走ります。 (Neko wa mise e hashirimasu.)
• B. 明日へ公園に行きます。 (Ashita e kouen ni ikimasu.)
• C. 兄へメッセージを送ります。 (Ani e messeeji o okurimasu.)

7. One sentence has an error with へ. Which one is wrong?

• A. 家へ帰ります。 (Ie e kaerimasu.)
• B. 学校へ先生がいます。 (Gakkou e sensei ga imasu.)
• C. 友だちへ手紙を書きます。 (Tomodachi e tegami o kakimasu.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese using へ: “The robot goes toward the station.”

9. Translate into Japanese using へ: “To Grandma: thank you.”

10. Translate into Japanese using へ: “The dog runs from the park toward the river.”

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Answers and Explanations

1. A. 猫は川へ走ります。 (Neko wa kawa e hashirimasu.) — へ marks the direction “toward the river,” which is the intended meaning.
2. A. 昨日、私たちは博物館へ行きました。 (Kinou, watashitachi wa hakubutsukan e ikimashita.) — Use へ with 行きました to show the destination; the other particles don’t show direction.
3. A. 先生へ。 (Sensei e.) — へ is the natural way to write “To [person]” at the top of a message.
4. A. タコは学校から海へ帰ります。 (Tako wa gakkou kara umi e kaerimasu.) — から marks the starting point and へ marks the direction/destination with a movement verb.
5. A. 祖母は東京へ来ません。 (Sobo wa Toukyou e kimasen.) — へ correctly marks “toward Tokyo”; the prompt asks for a sentence using へ.
6. B is the error: 明日へ公園に行きます。 (Ashita e kouen ni ikimasu.) — へ cannot mark time; say 明日、公園に行きます。 (Ashita, kouen ni ikimasu.)
7. B is the error: 学校へ先生がいます。 (Gakkou e sensei ga imasu.) — あります/います use に for location, not へ; say 学校に先生がいます。 (Gakkou ni sensei ga imasu.)
8. ロボットは駅へ行きます。 (Robotto wa eki e ikimasu.) — へ shows the direction toward the station with 行きます.
9. おばあちゃんへ、ありがとうございます。 (Obaachan e, arigatou gozaimasu.) — へ addresses the message “To Grandma.”
10. 犬は公園から川へ走ります。 (Inu wa kouen kara kawa e hashirimasu.) — から marks “from” and へ marks “toward” for movement.