Today you say where you’re going with the particle に, and you meet katakana — the second alphabet. Good news: it’s the same sounds you already know, just new shapes, mostly for foreign words.
Understand this — tap “Hear it”
がっこう に いきます
I go to school.
がっこう gakkou — schoolに ni — toいきます ikimasu — go
にほん に いきたい です
I want to go to Japan.
にほん nihon — Japanに ni — toいきたい ikitai — want to goです desu — is
うち に かえります
I go home.
うち uchi — homeに ni — toかえります kaerimasu — return
The pattern you can now use
___ に いきます
___ ni ikimasu
I go to ___.
に marks the destination — where the movement is headed. いきます = go, きます = come, かえります = return home. Add ～たい to a verb for “want to”: いきたい = “want to go.”
Words to use today — tap a row to hear
いきますikimasu
go
きますkimasu
come
かえりますkaerimasu
return
がっこうgakkou
school
うちuchi
home
えきeki
station
にほんnihon
Japan
とうきょうtoukyou
Tokyo
Your turn — say it, then check
Say: “I go home.”
うち に かえりますuchi ni kaerimasu
Say: “I go to Tokyo.”
とうきょう に いきますtoukyou ni ikimasu
Say: “I want to go to Japan.”
にほん に いきたい ですnihon ni ikitai desu
Quick check
What particle marks where you’re going?
に
How do you say “want to go”?
いきたい(です)
⤷ Kana side-quest — ~2 min · tap to hear, watch the strokes
👀 Today’s input · ~5 min — where fluency actually comes from
Train your ears
You can’t read much yet — so listen. Put on one “Complete Beginner” video from Comprehensible Japanese: all visual, all Japanese, zero English. You’ll understand more than you’d expect, and this is where real fluency actually comes from — a little every day.