Japanese 行く and 来る describe movement relative to a point of reference, often the speaker’s location.

The idea

Use 行く for travel away from the reference point and 来る for movement toward it. At home, a friend comes here; you go to school. Japanese often uses そちらへ行きます where English says “I’m coming”. The reference point can shift with the situation, so consider whose location anchors the utterance.

Patterns to compare
JapaneseMeaning
行いきますgo away from the reference point
来きますcome toward the reference point
そちらへ行いきますgo to your location

Examples

  • 明日あした、私わたしは学校がっこうへ行いきます。Tomorrow I will go to school.
  • 友達ともだちが私わたしの家いえに来きます。A friend will come to my house.
  • 私わたしは今いまからそちらへ行いきます。I am coming over to you now.
  • 母ははが駅えきに迎むかえに来きます。My mother will come to the station to pick me up.
  • 私わたしは先週せんしゅう、大阪おおさかに行いきました。I went to Osaka last week.
  • 友達ともだちは来週らいしゅう、ここに来きます。My friend will come here next week.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not translate English “come” mechanically. The destination, speaker and context matter more than a fixed word-for-word match.

Try it yourself

  1. At home, say that a friend is coming here. 家いえにいます。友達ともだちがここに＿。（来きます／行いきます）

    Show answer or example answer

    来ます

    The friend is moving toward the speaker at home, so 来ます fits.

  2. At home, say that you are going to school tomorrow. 家いえにいます。明日あした、学校がっこうに＿。（行いきます／来きます）

    Show answer or example answer

    行きます

    The speaker leaves home for school, so 行きます fits.

  3. Tell the other person you are heading over to them now. 私わたしは今いまからそちらへ＿。（行いきます／来きます）

    Show answer or example answer

    行きます

    The speaker travels to the other person’s location: そちらへ行きます is natural.

Use it today

Imagine speaking from home. Say where you will go and who will come to you, then tell a friend you are on your way to them.