Discussion in '日本語 (Japanese)' started by bmc123, Jun 27, 2013.

  1. bmc123 New Member

    English - America
    In the sentence 上手に話します what is the に particle being used for? The way I sort of understand it is that 上手に is modifying the verb, but as far I know に has to do with location, can someone explain this?
  2. polo111 Junior Member

    nice = adjective
    nicely = adverb

    上手　= adjective/ noun
    上手に　= adverb

    に　is an indicator saying that the word is adverb , like -ly in English.
  3. Kasumi Tsuyuiri

    Kasumi Tsuyuiri Junior Member

    There are two main types of adjectives in Japanese: i-adjectives and na-adjectives.

    For i-adjectives, e.g. 熱い atsu-i 'hot', corresponding adverbial form is -ku (熱く atsu-ku): 熱くなった 'it became hot'.
    For na-adjectives, e.g. 静かな shizuka-na 'silent', corresponding adverbial form is -ni (静かに shizuka-ni): 廊下を静かに歩く 'to silently walk through a corridor'.

    So, this に ni is not a particle, but a conjugative ending.
  4. puny_god Junior Member

    English - US
    The に at the end is actually converting your adjective 上手 into an adverb 上手に
    Another example is
    丁寧　「ていねい」polite
    丁寧に politely

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