Jokin
に VS へ indicating movement こんにちは、Is there any difference between these sentences? お手洗いに行きます お手洗いへ行きます I've been wondering for long if there is any slight difference in the meaning between using へ or に to indicate the goal of movement or if it is just personal preference
Jul 17, 2015 11:53 AM
Answers · 5
3
に - Is a direct particle in the case of direction. You are going TO the restroom. へ - Is more like you're headed to where ever. You are going TOWARDS the restroom. In the sentence you provided there really is no difference. There definitely is a pattern between natives and what they will use に and へ for. Why the difference? Lets say you are headed somewhere but you might stop at different places along the way, or perhaps you may not even ultimately reach your intended destination. へ would be used. What if someone asked you where someone went, but you don't know where they were exactly headed, but you know the direction they went. You can use へ for that as well. Hope this clears things up a little bit.
July 17, 2015
1
Hey, Jokin. I'm not a expert, so this is my personal opinion. I think they have the same meaning, too. But, 「~へ行く」sounds more formal to me than 「~に行く」. Personally, I usually use 「~に行く」in daily conversation. But when I want to speak more politely, I tend to choose to use 「~へ行く」. Also, I think 「~へ行く」is more literary rather than colloquial. I feel like I see 「~へ行く」more often in written form. I hope it will help. :)
July 17, 2015
1
I would like to answer your question. In this case these sentences are same meaning. You can choose whichever you like.
July 17, 2015
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