Grammar › Particles
へ (e) — direction “toward”
Toward a place; written へ, pronounced e
へ marks direction — “toward”. Like は, its reading changes as a particle: written with the kana he, pronounced e. In everyday speech に and へ overlap almost completely for destinations; へ feels slightly more “direction-flavored” and shows up in writing like ようこそ日本へ (Welcome to Japan).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Place + へ + 行く/来る/帰る | 大阪へ行きます — go (toward) Osaka |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ようこそ、京都へ。 | ようこそ、きょうとへ。 youkoso、kyoutohe。 | Welcome to Kyoto. |
| 週末、海へ行きました。 | しゅうまつ、うみへいきました。 shuumatsu、umiheikimashita。 | I went to the sea on the weekend. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
You can nearly always substitute に for へ with movement verbs — but not the reverse: へ can't mark clock-time or existence. If unsure, に is the safer bet.