LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 72 JLPT N4
Going To, Coming To (行く・来る)
A verb’s stem, the part right before ます, attaches straight to 行く or 来る to mean “go to [verb]” or “come to [verb].” The purpose of the trip travels with the sentence in one breath, no separate clause needed.
I'll go to the airport to meet them on Wednesday morning.
I'll go eat sushi together on Saturday.
In Real Life
迎える (to go meet, pick up) becomes 迎えに, 食べる becomes 食べに, the pattern is always [stem] + に + [行く/来る]. This is the same shape as Here to Eat’s -으러 가요 in Korean, a verb stem fused directly onto a travel verb to state the destination and the reason together.
My parents are coming to Japan on Wednesday.
Won't you come eat dinner at my apartment on Friday?
In Real Life
行く and 来る aren’t interchangeable, they’re chosen by whether the destination is away from the speaker or toward them, the exact same logic that splits あげる from くれる in Give and Take. Someone traveling to where you already are always takes 来る, never 行く, regardless of how far they’re coming from.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| parents | |
| airport | |
| to go meet, pick up | |
| hometown | |
| to play, hang out | |
| to swim | |
| dinner | |
| library | |
| summer vacation | |
| apartment | |
| to go hang out | |
| to go learn | |
| to go see | |
| to go get, fetch | |
| to deliver | |
| to visit | |
| to return, go back | |
| departure | |
| arrival | |
| plan, schedule |