へ

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: Add へ after the place toward which movement is directed; as a particle, it is pronounced え.
• Basic usage: It marks the direction of going, coming, or returning.
  • In 学校へ自転車で行きます。, the school is the destination and the bicycle is the means of travel.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Destinations compared with に
  • Both 学校へ行く and 学校に行く can describe going to school. The former highlights the direction of movement and the latter the point to be reached.
• Distinct from a location of existence
  • 学校にいる describes being at school. The overlap between movement with へ and destinations with に does not extend to replacing the particle for a location of existence.