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ryokou ni iku toki, watasi ha kanarazu haburasi to tiisai taoru wo kaban ni iremasu.

旅行りょこう　に　行いく　とき、　私わたし　は　必かならず　歯はブラシ　と　小ちいさい　タオル　を　かばん　に　入いれます。ryokou ni iku toki, watasi ha kanarazu haburasi to tiisai taoru wo kaban ni iremasu.
When I travel, I always put a toothbrush and a small towel in my bag.
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Questions & Answers about ryokou ni iku toki, watasi ha kanarazu haburasi to tiisai taoru wo kaban ni iremasu.

Why do you say 旅行に行く? Doesn’t 旅行 already mean “to travel”? Isn’t that like saying “go travel” twice?

In Japanese, 旅行 (りょこう) is a noun meaning “trip / travel (the event)”, not a verb.

To say “to go on a trip”, Japanese often uses:

  • 旅行に行く = literally “go to a trip”
    • 旅行 = trip
    • に = to (destination/goal)
    • 行く = go

So it’s not redundant in Japanese. It’s more like English “go on a trip”, where trip is also a noun.

You can also use 旅行する (verb “to travel”), but that sounds a bit more formal or written. In everyday speech, 旅行に行く is extremely common.

What’s the difference between 旅行に行くとき and 旅行へ行くとき? Can I use へ here?

Both に and へ can mark a direction or destination, so:

  • 旅行に行く
  • 旅行へ行く

are both grammatically correct.

Nuance:

  • に focuses a bit more on the destination / target.
  • へ focuses a bit more on the direction / movement toward.

In everyday modern Japanese, 旅行に行く is more common and sounds more natural in most contexts. Using へ here won’t be wrong, but に is usually the default for “go to X” when you clearly reach the destination.

Why is it 旅行に行くとき and not 旅行に行ったとき? How does the verb form before とき change the meaning?

With とき (when), the form of the verb before it (dictionary form vs past) matters a lot.

  • 旅行に行くとき

    • Verb before とき is dictionary form (行く).
    • Means “when I am going on a trip / before or while I go”.
    • The action in the main clause (かばんに入れます) happens around the time of going, often before leaving.

  • 旅行に行ったとき

    • Verb before とき is past form (行った).
    • Means “when I went on a trip / when I was on the trip”.
    • The main action happens after you have already gone, i.e., during or after arrival.

So:

  • 旅行に行くとき、かばんに入れます。
    = When I’m (about to) go on a trip, I put them in my bag. (packing time)

  • 旅行に行ったとき、たくさん写真を撮りました。
    = When I went on a trip, I took many photos. (during the trip)

Why is there no の before とき? I thought it should be 行くのとき or 旅行のとき.

とき has its own grammar rules.

  1. With verbs, you usually put the verb directly before とき:

    • 行くとき (when I go)
    • 行ったとき (when I went)
    • 勉強するとき (when I study)

    You don’t insert の between the verb and とき.

  2. With nouns, you normally use の:

    • 旅行のとき = at the time of the trip / during the trip
    • 子どものとき = when I was a child

So in this sentence, since 行く is a verb, 行くとき (without の) is the correct pattern: verb (any tense) + とき.

Why is 私 followed by は here: 私 は 必ず…? Could I omit 私?

Yes, you can definitely omit 私 in normal conversation:

  • 旅行に行くとき、必ず歯ブラシと小さいタオルをかばんに入れます。

In Japanese, the subject is often left out if it’s clear from context. Adding 私 has these effects:

  • 私 = explicitly marks the subject as “I / me”.
  • は = topic marker: “As for me, …”

Including 私:

  • Sounds a bit more explicit or contrastive, like “As for me, when I travel, I always put…”
  • Could be used when comparing habits:
    e.g. “Others don’t, but I always put my toothbrush and small towel…”

In many neutral situations, Japanese speakers would omit 私, especially in first-person statements about themselves.

What does 必ず really mean here? Is it “must”, “always”, or “definitely”?

必ず (かならず) has a few related meanings. In this sentence, the nuance is:

  • “always / without fail / every single time”

So:

  • 旅行に行くとき、私は必ず…入れます。
    ≈ “When I travel, I always (without fail) put … in my bag.”

Other common nuances of 必ず:

  1. Certainly / definitely (speaker’s strong confidence):

    • 明日は必ず行きます。
      = I’ll definitely go tomorrow.

  2. Without exception (no skipping, no forgetting):

    • 寝る前に必ず歯をみがきます。
      = I always brush my teeth before bed (never skip).

It is not exactly the same as “must” (like an obligation). For obligation, you’d use forms like:

  • 〜なければならない
  • 〜ないといけない
Why is it 歯ブラシ instead of just ブラシ? Does 歯ブラシ always mean “toothbrush”?

Yes, 歯ブラシ (はブラシ) means “toothbrush”.

  • 歯 = tooth / teeth
  • ブラシ = brush (loanword from English)

So 歯ブラシ is literally “tooth brush”.

If you said just ブラシ, it would be ambiguous:

  • hairbrush
  • clothing brush
  • cleaning brush etc.

So 歯ブラシ is the specific word for a toothbrush, just like in English we don’t usually say only “brush” when we mean “toothbrush”.

What’s the nuance of 小さいタオル? Is that the same as a handkerchief? Could I say ハンカチ?

小さいタオル literally means “small towel”. In daily life, this might be:

  • a face towel
  • a small hand towel
  • a sports towel you carry around

ハンカチ (from “handkerchief”) is usually:

  • thinner
  • made of cloth (not the fluffy towel material)
  • used mainly for wiping hands/face, sometimes decorative

So:

  • 小さいタオル focuses on towel material (terry cloth) and its size.
  • ハンカチ is a handkerchief-type item.

Depending on what the speaker actually uses, both could be natural in a similar sentence:

  • …歯ブラシとハンカチをかばんに入れます。
    = I put a toothbrush and a handkerchief in my bag.

But 小さいタオル and ハンカチ are not completely identical items.

Why is を after 小さいタオル and not after かばん? How do the particles を and に work here?

The structure is:

  • 歯ブラシ と 小さいタオル を かばん に 入れます。

Breakdown:

  • 歯ブラシ と 小さいタオル = toothbrush and small towel (objects)
  • を = marks the direct object of the verb (what is being put)
  • かばん = bag
  • に = marks the destination / place where something is put
  • 入れます = put (something) in / into

So the pattern is:

  • [Thing(s)] を [Container / Location] に 入れる
    • Put [things] into [container].

Examples:

  • 本をかばんに入れます。 = I put the book in my bag.
  • お金を財布に入れます。 = I put the money in my wallet.

If you put を after かばん, it would wrongly mark かばん as the thing being put, not the place it goes into.

Why is the verb 入れます and not 入ります? What’s the difference?

入れる (いれる) and 入る (はいる) are a common transitive / intransitive pair:

  • 入れる (transitive): to put (something) into (something)
    • Requires an object (marked by を).
  • 入る (intransitive): to enter / go into / fit into
    • The subject itself goes inside; there is no direct object.

In the sentence:

  • 歯ブラシと小さいタオルをかばんに入れます。
    • You (the subject) put the toothbrush and towel into the bag.
    • So you need the transitive verb 入れる → polite form 入れます.

If you used 入ります, the meaning would shift to:

  • かばんに入ります。 = (something / someone) goes into the bag / fits in the bag.

So:

  • X を Y に 入れる = put X into Y
  • X が Y に 入る = X goes/gets/enters into Y / X fits in Y
Is the word order fixed? Could I move 必ず or かばんに to other positions?

Japanese word order is quite flexible as long as particles are correct. Some possible variations:

  • 旅行に行くとき、必ず私は歯ブラシと小さいタオルをかばんに入れます。
  • 旅行に行くとき、私は歯ブラシと小さいタオルを必ずかばんに入れます。
  • 旅行に行くとき、私は歯ブラシと小さいタオルをかばんに必ず入れます。

All are understandable and natural with slight emphasis differences. General tips:

  • 必ず usually stands before the verb or before the phrase it qualifies.
  • The final verb (入れます) tends to stay at the end of the sentence.
  • Particles (を, に, は) show the grammatical role, so even if you move phrases around, the roles remain clear.

The original word order is very typical and neutral:

  • (When I travel,) I always [put toothbrush and small towel in my bag].
What politeness level is 入れます? Could I say 入れる instead?

入れます is the polite (ます) form.

  • 入れる = plain / dictionary form (casual)
  • 入れます = polite form

Choose based on who you are talking to:

  • Talking to friends / family:
    • 旅行に行くとき、歯ブラシと小さいタオルをかばんに入れる。
  • Talking politely (to strangers, teachers, in writing, etc.):
    • 旅行に行くとき、歯ブラシと小さいタオルをかばんに入れます。

The rest of the sentence doesn’t change; only the verb ending changes to show politeness.