JLPT N5 · Grammar
Highlighted parts are the fixed pieces of the pattern; the rest changes with the word you attach it to.
## What it means This で tells people **how** you get somewhere - which vehicle or method of transport you use, like a train, bus, or car.
## When to use it Attach で directly after the vehicle: 電車で (by train), バスで (by bus), 車で (by car), 自転車で (by bicycle). Then add a movement verb like 行きます or 来ます. There's one exception: if you go somewhere on foot, you don't use で at all - you say 歩いて (walking) instead.
## Don't confuse it with This で is easy to mix up with the で that marks a location, as in 公園で遊びます (I play in the park). The trick is context: right after a vehicle word, で almost always means "by means of," while right after a place word, で usually marks where an action happens.
電車で学校へ行きます。
I go to school by train.
バスで会社へ行きます。
I go to work by bus.
毎日自転車で来ます。
I come here by bicycle every day.
飛行機で日本へ行きました。
I went to Japan by plane.
歩いて学校へ行きます。
I walk to school.
駅までタクシーで行きます。
I'll take a taxi to the station.
今日は車で行きません。
I'm not going by car today.
地下鉄で行きますか。
Are you going by subway?