N5 · Unit 2
Lesson 6Where, with whom, and how to travel
State a destination, companion, transport method, departure point, and time.
What you learn
State a destination, companion, transport method, departure point, and time.
Learning points
- Movement destinations
- Companions and transport
- Origins and travel time
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
場所 へ 行きます / 来ます / 帰ります ・ 人 と ・ 交通手段 で ・ 場所 からBeginner explanation
Mark a direction or destination with へ, pronounced e here. Use と for a companion, で for transport, and から for the starting point. Ask how someone travels with どうやって.
Understand these sentences first
- 明日 京都へ 行きます。ashita Kyōto e ikimasu
I will go to Kyoto tomorrow.
- 友達と 電車で 行きます。tomodachi to densha de ikimasu
I will go by train with a friend.
- 駅から ホテルまで バスで 行きます。eki kara hoteru made basu de ikimasu
I will go from the station to the hotel by bus.
- 何時に 家へ 帰りますか。nan-ji ni ie e kaerimasu ka
What time will you go home?
Core vocabulary
- 行きますいきますgo
- 来ますきますcome
- 帰りますかえりますreturn
- 電車でんしゃtrain
- バスバスbus
- 駅えきstation
- 空港くうこうairport
- 友達ともだちfriend
Grammar, one point at a time
Mark a movement destination with へ
place へ 行きます／来ます／帰りますWith movement verbs such as 行きます, 来ます, and 帰ります, mark the destination or direction with へ. As a particle, へ is pronounced e.
Examples
- 中国へ 行きます。I will go to China.
- 家へ 帰ります。I will go home.
Mark the origin of movement with から
place から 来ます／行きますから can mark either a time starting point or a place of origin. The verb and context show whether the meaning is temporal or spatial.
Examples
- 北京から 来ました。I came from Beijing.
- どこから 来ましたか。Where did you come from?
Mark a companion with と
person と VHere と marks the person who accompanies you. For acting alone, use 一人で.
Examples
- 友達と 帰りました。I went home with a friend.
- だれと 行きますか。Who will you go with?
Mark transport or travel method with で
transport で 行きますUse で after a bus, train, plane, or other means of transport. For walking, say 歩いて rather than 足で. Ask the method with 何で or どうやって.
Examples
- 電車で 行きます。I will go by train.
- 駅まで 歩いて 行きます。I will walk to the station.
から and まで also mark a spatial range
place から place までFor travel from one place to another, mark the origin with から and endpoint with まで; the transport method normally takes で.
Examples
- 東京から 広島まで 新幹線で 行きます。I will take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima.
は can follow に, で, へ, から, まで, or と for contrast
particle + はAdding は after another particle can contrast a location, direction, origin, endpoint, or companion. The original particle normally remains.
Examples
- 韓国へは 行きました。中国へは 行きませんでした。I went to Korea but did not go to China.
- 部屋には 電話が ありません。There is no telephone in the room.
Expressions and situations
たしか marks a recollection that is not fully certain
たしか means if I remember correctly. It shows a reasoned but incomplete recollection. Do not use it to sound certain when you have no basis.
- たしか 11時半ごろです。It was around 11:30, if I remember correctly.
Nです can replace an understood movement phrase
To 何で帰りましたか, 電車です is enough; a destination question can be answered 銀座です. Noun + です does not create a new movement verb; it replaces understood material.
家 tends toward the building; うち toward one's home or household
家 can denote the physical house and often appears with an owner, as in わたしの家. うち commonly carries the perspective of my or our home and can also refer to the household.
まっすぐ can mean go directly
With 帰ります, まっすぐ means to go straight home without stopping elsewhere. In directions, it also means straight ahead.
それ can refer to the whole situation just mentioned
In それは 大変ですね, それ does not point to a visible object; it refers to the experience or situation just described.
お先に失礼します and お疲れ様でした close the workday
The person leaving first can say お先に失礼します, and a colleague commonly replies お疲れ様でした. Relationship, timing, and workplace custom affect the actual form.
終電 is the last train of the service day
Last-train time varies by line, direction, day, and service changes. Do not replace a timetable check with a fixed around-midnight assumption.
What you should be able to do
- Choose the correct special readings for dates and months.
- Use へ, から, と, and で for destination, origin, companion, and transport.
- Use から and まで for a full travel range.
- Use 歩いて for walking rather than misusing a transport particle.
- Contrast destinations and transport with particle + は.
- Complete an original dialogue about returning from a welcome party, last trains, and route confirmation.
Culture and real use
Check current official information for Shinkansen lines and train names
JR East currently lists the Tohoku, Akita, Yamagata, Hokuriku, and Joetsu Shinkansen. Tokaido Shinkansen services use names such as Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama; JR Kyushu lists Mizuho, Sakura, and Tsubame for the Kyushu Shinkansen. Through services run across operator boundaries toward the Sanyo route, so train names, stops, seat rules, and timetables must be checked on the relevant JR operator's official pages before booking.
- 新大阪まで のぞみで 行きます。I will take Nozomi to Shin-Osaka.
- 指定席は どこですか。Where is the reserved-seat car?