The Particle で I
This lesson will be about yet another crucial particle in Japanese: で. Many students confuse it with the particle に because of overlap that they have, but with what you will learn in this lesson, you will have a good founding knowledge for distinguishing them properly.
The Case Particle で: “At”
The particle で and the particle に both roughly translate as “at/in” when expressing the location of an action. With で, however, there is no deep connection implied between the action and the place of said action as there is with に. The best example of this contrast can be seen with the concept of “to work.”
1a. ここで働いています。
I’m working here.
1b. ここに勤めています。
I work here.
1a implies that you are only working somewhere. Perhaps you are a side hand or you are working at a temporary job. Your focus is on the labor and not being a part of the establishment. 1b, on the other hand, implies that you have been at the establishment as an employment for a length of time and that you view yourself as a part of that workplace. While neither 1a nor 1b utilizes “at” or “in,” they remain the closest words in English to them.
に relates to states of being, whereas で just relates to occurrences. This is why に is used frequently paired with verbs such as ある (to be (inanimate things)), いる (to be (animate things)), and 勤める (to work for) and で is used frequently paired with verbs such as 働く (to work), 会う (to meet), etc.
2. 学校で勉強します。
I’ll study at school.
3. 図書館で勉強しました。
I studied at the library.
4. 駅前で買い物（を）する。
To shop in front of the train station.
5. 事務所でお客さんに電話をかけます。
I will make a call at the office to the customer.
6. 彼女は海【で 〇・に X】泳いだ。
She swam in the sea.
Particle Note: 海に泳ぐ is incorrect to the majority of speakers. When you use で, you are specifying the location of swimming. Otherwise, you would say 海を泳ぐ to mean “to swim through the sea.”
7. 子供たちが庭で遊んでいる。
The children are playing in the garden.
8. 北海道で地震がありました。
There was an earthquake in Hokkaido.
The Grammaticality of ～に働く
Due to the nature of に indicating an existential presence to an action, ～に働く is generally felt to be a grammatical mistake. If, though, the speaker uses 働く in a more casual sense to refer to their profession/occupation, ～に働く may be heard, although this is not advised.
9. うちはとある店に働いてます。(△)
I’m working at this certain store.
10. お金の両替はどこでできますか。
Where (at) can I exchange money?
The Case Particle で: “With” (Method)
Another major meaning of the particle で which it does not share with the particle に1 is indicating the method/means by which something is done. This may translate into English depending on the sentence as “with,” “in,” “by,” or other related prepositions for the same general meaning.
11. 日本語で話してください。
Please speak in Japanese.
12. いまびというウェブサイトで日本語を勉強しています。
I’m studying Japanese with a website called IMABI.
13. ステレオで音楽を聴くのが好きです。
I like listening to music with a stereo.
14. 彼は早口で喋った。
He spoke [rapidly/in a rapid manner].
15. 着物で結婚式に行きます。
I will go to the wedding in a kimono.
16. 雨の日（に）はバスで学校に行きますか。
Do you go to school by bus on rainy days?
17. 紙でカモを作ったよ。
I made a duck out of paper.
18. 地下鉄で行きます。
I(‘ll) go by subway.
19. このCDを3千円で買った。
I bought this CD for three thousand yen.
20. もはやデパートで働いていませんよ。
I no longer work at the department store.
21. ナイフで肉を切りました。
I cut the meat up with a knife.
22. 店の新聞でその記事を読みました。
I read that article in a newspaper in the store.
23. これは電気で動きます。
This works with electricity.
24. お茶は要りません。水でけっこうです。
I don’t need/want tea. I’m fine with water.
25. いつも（お）箸で食べます。
I always eat with chopsticks.
Culture Note: Some things not to do with chopsticks include putting them vertically in a bowl of rice or passing food with them as this conjures up imagery of handling cremated remains. Pass food by placing it on a small plate first. Mismatched chopsticks are also frowned upon, as is also pointing chopsticks at someone as this may be considered a threat.
- In Classical Japanese, the particle に could indicate “method,” but this function has been completely lost in Modern Japanese. ↩︎