How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction?


It is common to ask [the difference between just "へ" (-e) and "に"
(-ni)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/80/when-going-somewhere-
is-there-any-difference-between-e-and-ni) but it seems to get even more
complicated when you also mix in "まで" (made) and even "の方" (no-hō).

When Japanese people ask me where I'm going they always ask "どこまで" (doko
made)?" rather than "どこへ" (doko e) or "どこに" (doko ni) that I expected.

I know "まで" (made) can mean "until" but when I ask the difference with "に"
(ni) and "へ" (e) I'm told "へ" (e) means "to" and "に" (ni) means "in the
direction of" but if this is the case then how do they differ from "の方" (no-
ho) which I already learned previously meant "in the direction of"?




へ and に can both translate as "to" and are often interchangeable. The
difference is that へ focuses on the process or course of going in a direction
or to a place, while に focuses on the destination itself [1]. まで, being a
particle that defines an upper bound, thus focuses on the distance traveled.

The function of ～の方（に／へ） depends on which particle follows. Followed by へ, it
does indeed mean "in the direction of" as you previously learned. (東京の方へ行く。)
Followed by に, it's harder to pin to a specific meaning, but it often means
"in the general area of" or "on the side of" (the latter being when 方 is used
to indicate one of multiple options rather than a simple direction of travel).
(東京の方にある。)

Sources:

  1. [「彼女が待ってる新宿（ ）、恋する切符 5,100 円」──格助詞「に」と「へ」のイメージ──](http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/nichigen/menu7_folder/symposium/pdf/1/11.pdf) (PDF)




へ and に can both translate as "to" and are often interchangeable. The
difference is that へ focuses on the process or course of going in a direction
or to a place, while に focuses on the destination itself [1]. まで, being a
particle that defines an upper bound, thus focuses on the distance traveled.

The function of ～の方（に／へ） depends on which particle follows. Followed by へ, it
does indeed mean "in the direction of" as you previously learned. (東京の方へ行く。)
Followed by に, it's harder to pin to a specific meaning, but it often means
"in the general area of" or "on the side of" (the latter being when 方 is used
to indicate one of multiple options rather than a simple direction of travel).
(東京の方にある。)

Sources:

  1. [「彼女が待ってる新宿（ ）、恋する切符 5,100 円」──格助詞「に」と「へ」のイメージ──](http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/nichigen/menu7_folder/symposium/pdf/1/11.pdf) (PDF)

