…の隣
…no tonari
The English phrase 'next to' can be translated into Japanese using …の隣 (…no tonari) or …のそばに.
Meaning: beside, alongside (prep)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| …の隣 | …no tonari |
| …のそばに | …no soba ni |
In Japanese, the term tonari is typically used for objects of the same type, such as the house next door or the person sitting next to you.
Which one should you use?
…の隣 is used when referring to something being immediately adjacent or in the very next position in a sequence, such as seats or houses. In contrast, …のそばに is more general and means 'near' or 'close to', and does not necessarily imply being immediately adjacent.
How does it change in a sentence?
To use 'next to' as an adjective to describe a noun (for example, 'the next person'), you use the form 隣の followed by the noun.
How do you pronounce it?
…no tonari
Did you know?
- The word soba used in soba ni to mean 'next to' is a homophone for the buckwheat noodles of the same name. This creates a common linguistic joke among students of the language.
- In crowded spaces like trains, using tonari to describe the person beside you can feel surprisingly intimate. To maintain polite distance, it is often more culturally appropriate to use chikaku to mean they are 'near' you.
- While 'next to' in English is often directionless, the Japanese word yoko specifically refers to the side of a central axis, adding a horizontal orientation to the description.
Examples in context
- 彼は私の隣に座りました。He sat next to me.
- あのビルの隣の公園がきれいです。The park next to that building is beautiful.
- あのパン屋さんの隣が図書館です。The library is next to the bakery.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “next to” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
