LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 94 JLPT N4
Coming This Way, Going That Way (〜てくる・〜ていく)
Attached to a verb’s て-form, くる and いく describe a change unfolding over time, not just physical movement. てくる points the change toward now, something that’s been building up to this moment. ていく points it away from now, something that will keep going from here.
Prices have been getting higher (up to now).
They'll probably keep getting higher from here on.
In Real Life
Both sentences describe the same trend, rising prices, but てきました looks backward from now, while ていくでしょう looks forward from now. Neither verb is about walking anywhere, くる and いく have shifted entirely into marking the direction of change through time.
I've been reading all kinds of books ever since I started university.
I plan to keep reading all kinds of books even after I graduate.
In Real Life
てきました reports a habit built up to the present, from university through now. ていこうと思います projects that same habit forward, from now through graduation and beyond, pairing naturally with ようと思う, which names an intention.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to increase | |
| to change | |
| to lose weight | |
| to gain weight | |
| to continue | |
| to go down | |
| to decrease | |
| to break down | |
| prices, cost of living | |
| convenient | |
| lively, bustling | |
| to graduate | |
| volunteer | |
| activity | |
| foreign country | |
| movie | |
| from now on | |
| gradually | |
| little by little | |
| change |