One of the most useful grammar patterns for talking about plans and activities in Japanese is 〜に行いく, which means “to go (somewhere) to do (something).” This pattern is commonly used to express when you’re going somewhere with the purpose of doing an activity.

For example:

• 店みせに買かい物ものに行いく → Go to the store to shop
• 海うみへ泳およぎに行いく → Go to the beach to swim

Let’s break it down and learn how to use this pattern properly.

Structure: How to Form 〜に行いく

The basic structure of 〜に行いく follows this pattern:

[Destination] に/へ [Verb (Stem)] に行いく/来くる/帰かえる

There are two main components:

1. Destination of movement (marked by に or へ)
2. Purpose of movement (verb stem + に)

1. Using a Noun + に/へ Verb Stem に 行いく

When using a noun that represents the place, attach に or へ to indicate the destination, then add the verb stem + に行いく.

Examples:

• 居酒屋いざかやに飲のみに行いく → Go to an izakaya to drink
• 公園こうえんへ散歩さんぽに行いく → Go to the park to take a walk

2. Using 〜に来くる (Come to do something)

If the movement is towards the speaker’s current location, replace 行いく with 来くる.

Examples:

• うちに遊あそびに来くる → Come to my house to hang out
• 日本にほんに日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうしに来くる → Come to Japan to study Japanese

3. Using 〜に帰かえる (Return to do something)

If you’re returning somewhere with a specific purpose, replace 行いく with 帰かえる.

Examples:

• 家いえに昼ひるごはんを食たべに帰かえる → Return home to eat lunch
• 家いえに忘わすれ物ものを取とりに帰かえる → Return home to get forgotten items

Common Phrases & Situations

Here are some real-life examples of how you can use 〜に行いく in conversations:

A: 「これからどこに行いくの？」 (Where are you going now?)
B: 「レストランに昼ひるごはんを食たべに行いくよ！」 (I’m going to a restaurant to eat lunch!)

A: 「週末しゅうまつ、何なにする？」 (What are you doing this weekend?)
B: 「映画館えいがかんに映画えいがを見みに行いくつもり！」 (I plan to go to the cinema to watch a movie!)

A: 「放課後ほうかご、何なにする？」 (What will you do after school?)
B: 「図書館としょかんに勉強べんきょうしに行いく。」 (I’ll go to the library to study.)

Practice Time

Try making your own sentences with [Destination] に/へ [Verb Stem] に 行いく/来くる/帰かえる! Here are some prompts:

1. Go to school to study → ______ に行いく
2. Come to a friend’s house to hang out → ______ に来くる
3. Return home to sleep → ______ に帰かえる
4. Go to the park to take pictures → ______ に行いく

This 〜に行いく pattern is very useful in daily conversations! Try using it next time you’re talking about plans or activities in Japanese.

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