I could go on and on about all the different ways to use “ni”… but I’m not going to. The two broad uses we’ve covered here (marking locations and marking the target/goal of verbs) are good enough for a beginner. Just don’t be surprised if you see a “ni” being used in a slightly different way every once in a while.
Vocabulary
なる = to become
病気 = びょうき = sick
Transcript
言語ガールズ #82
Overly Ambitious Goal Setting
Blue: に can also be used to mark the goal or target of an action.
Blue: For example, “友達 に なります” means “To become friends”.
Yellow: I think I get it.
Yellow: The action is “become”. What are we becoming? Friends.
Blue: It doesn’t have to be a purposeful goal either.
Blue: 病気になります means “To become sick” even though most people don’t purposefully set a goal of getting sick.
Blue: So if you see a に that isn’t marking a location it’s probably marking a goal or target.
Yellow: Come on に, leave some work for the rest of the prepositions.