Japanese: Difference between 'ni' and 'made'?

Question

They are both destination particles. But how do I know which to use? At first, I thought made was used when stating the starting point too (example, uchi kara gakkou made itt, I went to school from home).

But my textbook says 'mizuumi made doraibu ni ikimashita' (I went for a drive to the lake).

Any help appreciated, thanks :)

Answer 1

Isn't it uchi kara gakkou e ikimashita? I thought made was used to time, although perhaps it serves as emphasis in the sense of "all the way to".

Answer 2

Made is used as "until" as in from one place to another.

Tokyo kara hiroshima made shinkashen de ni jikan kakarimasu.

It takes two hours from Tokyo to Hiroshima by Shinkansen.

Ginza ni ikimashita.

I went to Ginza.

Nihon e youkoso.

Welcome to Tokyo.

Each are used in a different sense to mean the same thing.  

Answer 3

OK. I'll try to explain how I see the difference between "ni" and "made".

First of all, because both expressions can be translated into English as "to", I agree they can sometimes be confusing.

To me "ni" mainly focuses on the place/direction in which you are heading. The particle "e" also does something similar. But, "ni" is a little more specific and places a little more emphasis on your destination ("the place you are going").

So in an example, like "Mizuumi ni ikimashita",  the emphasis is not placed so much on the movement "to the lake" but more on the "lake" as a destination. You start out for the lake and the implication is that you reach your destination ("the lake"). The time it took, or the distance you covered to get to the lake is not as important as the fact that you went to the lake.

However, as you pointed out, "made" is often used together with "kara" as in the pattern ".... kara .... made" . Even, if "kara" is not explicitly stated, it's meaning is often implied.

It's because of this implied meaning of "kara", "made" places less of an emphasis (than "ni") on destination/direction  and more emphasis on time, distance, the process needed to get to a destination.

Try and think of "made" meaning something like "as far as... " or "all the way to....", "until..." or something similar.

Now, even though the sentence "Mizuumi made ikimashita" could also be translated into English as "I went to the lake", the use of "made" slightly changes the focus of the sentence. The word "lake" is not being emphasized as a destination for "ikimashita" but rather it is being emphasized as the limiting factor for "ikimashita". The focus is not on the destination but rather on the traveling from one point/moment in time ("kara") to another point/moment in time ("made").

So, using "made" implies a meaning more along the lines of "I went as far as the lake" or "I went all the way up to the lake". Instead of answering a question like "Where did you go?", it's answering a question like "How far did you go?".

I hope that helps a little and that I didn't confuse you even more.

Answer 4

"gakkou made iku" means you stay outside, you do not go inside. You stay at the entrance gate.

"gakkou ni iku" means you go inside.