に行く/に来る

Purpose of Going/Coming

Level 2Sounds Like niiku/nikuru

The pattern [Verb Stem] + に + [Motion Verb] (like 行く or 来る) is used to say you are going or coming somewhere in order to do something.

How It Works

To use this pattern, you must follow these steps:

1. Take a verb and change it to its stem form (the part before ます). For example, 食べる（たべる） becomes 食べ（たべ）.
2. Add the particle に.
3. Add a motion verb like 行く（いく - to go）, 来る（くる - to come）, or 帰る（かえる - to return/go home）.

Sentence Structure:
The typical order is [Destination] + [Purpose] + [Motion Verb]. For example:
日本へ 勉強に 行きます。
(I am going to Japan to study.)

Objects and Particles:
If the purpose verb is transitive, it still takes the particle を for its object:
寿司を 食べに 行く。
(Go to eat sushi.)

For Suru-Verbs:
For verbs like 勉強する（べんきょうする）, you can use either the noun alone (勉強に) or the し stem (勉強しに). Both are correct and very common.

Nuance Note:
In Japanese, movement is speaker-centric. If you are moving away from your current spot toward the listener, you use 行く（いく）, even if the listener would say 'come' in English. For example, 'I'm coming (to your house)!' is 「今、行くよ！」

Examples (4)

  1. デパートへ靴を買いに行きました。

    I went to the department store to buy shoes.

    Word by Word: Department store to shoes (object) buy (purpose) went.

    Here, 買い（かい） is the stem of 買う（かう）. The goal of going to the store is buying shoes.

  2. 友達がうちに遊びに来ます。

    A friend is coming over to my house to hang out.

    Word by Word: Friend (subject) house to play (purpose) comes.

    遊び（あそび） is the stem of 遊ぶ（あそぶ）. It indicates the purpose of the friend's visit.

  3. 日本へ日本語を勉強しに来ました。

    I came to Japan to study Japanese.

    Word by Word: Japan to Japanese (object) study (purpose) came.

    勉強し（べんきょうし） is the stem of 勉強する. This shows the reason for coming to Japan.

  4. スーパーへ買い物に行きます。

    I am going to the supermarket to shop.

    Word by Word: Supermarket to shopping (purpose) go.

    For 'shopping' (a suru-verb), we can just use the noun 買い物（かいもの） before に.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dictionary form instead of the stem form.

    × 食べるに行く。
    ○ 食べに行く。

    You must drop the final 'u' sound (for dictionary form) and use the stem (the form used before ます) before the particle に.

  • Using the direction particle へ for the purpose.

    × 買いへ行きます。
    ○ 買いに行きます。

    While へ marks the destination (the place), only に can mark the purpose (the action) in this specific pattern.

  • Using 来る（くる） when moving toward the listener.

    × 今、来ます！ (I'm coming!)
    ○ 今、行きます！ (I'm coming!)

    In Japanese, if you are moving away from your current location, you use 行く（いく）, even if you are heading toward the person you are talking to.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

に行く/に来るLevel 2Purpose of Going/Coming

Learn This First

To understand 'Purpose of Going/Coming', you need to know how to conjugate verbs into their polite stem (ます form) and understand how the particle 'に' marks a target or destination. Familiarity with basic movement verbs like 行く (go) and 来る (come) is also essential.

Words in This Pattern