いく

いく Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Verb (Group 1)

Essential Meaning: To go / To come (i.e. movement away from the speaker’s viewpoint)

Construction: Group 1 Verb

Notes:

• いく (行いく in kanji) represents a movement away from the current viewpoint of the speaker (but not necessarily from the exact point where the speaker is located). For example, if someone is standing at the opposite side of the room from you, and that person walks into a different room entirely, 行いく is the appropriate verb to describe that movement. In this case, the person is moving from a distant position to an even MORE distant position (i.e. it is a away from your viewpoint). The opposite of 行いく is 来くる, which describes a movement towards the current viewpoint of the speaker.
  • E.g. ボブはカナダに行いきます。[Bob is going to Canada.] In this sentence, the speaker apparently does not live in Canada because Bob’s trip to Canada is described as a movement away from the speaker’s viewpoint.
  • E.g. ボブはカナダに来きます。[Bob is coming to Canada.] In this sentence, the speaker apparently lives in or around Canada because Bob’s trip to Canada is described as a movement towards the speaker’s viewpoint.

• Whenever the speaker moves, he or she is moving away from the current viewpoint. In other words, 行いく is generally used whenever the speaker moves from one place to another. One exception is when the speaker goes to his or her home; the verb 帰かえる [To return] is usually used in such cases.
  • E.g. 私わたしはうちへ帰かえる。[I’m going home.]

• Sometimes, 行いくand 来くる can be interchanged depending on the speaker’s psychological attitude towards a certain place. In other words, the speaker can choose whether or not to place his or her psychological viewpoint at a certain place depending on how psychologically close they feel to that place.
  • E.g. 君きみのうちに息子むすこが来きませんでしたか。[Did my son come to your house?] Here, the speaker is placing himself psychologically near to the hearer’s house. It implies psychological closeness between the speaker and hearer.
  • E.g. 君きみのうちに息子むすこが行いきませんでしたか。[Did my son go to your house?] Here, the speaker is placing himself psychologically distant from the hearer’s house. It implies psychological distance between the speaker and the hearer.　
  • E.g. (The speaker lives in San Francisco and is calling his friend in New York who is going to Los Angeles): スミスさんは来月らいげつロスアンジェルスに来くるそうですね。[Mr. Smith, I heard that you’re coming to LA next month?] 来くる sounds natural here because Mr. Smith is making a movement in the direction of the speaker.
  • E.g. The speaker lives in San Francisco and is calling his friend in New York who is going to Los Angeles: スミスさんは来月らいげつロスアンジェルスに行いくそうですね。[Mr. Smith, I heard that you’re going to LA next month?] This sounds unnatural since the speaker uses 行いく even though Mr.Smith is making a movement in the speaker’s direction. It implies that the speaker feels very psychologically distant from Los Angeles (i.e. he doesn’t like Los Angeles).

Example Sentences:

田中たなかさんは来週らいげつアメリカへ行いく。[Ms. Tanaka is going to America next week.]

私わたしは東京とうきょうから大阪おおさかまでバスで行いった。[I went from Tokyo to Osaka.]

私わたしは毎朝まいあさ八時はちじに会社かいしゃに行いく。[I go to work every morning at 8.]

A: こんばん私わたしのうちでパーティーをしますが来きませんか。B: はい、行いきます！[A: We’re having a party tonight. Are you coming? B: Yes, I’m going!]

あなたにもその知しらせは行いきましたか。[Did that notice go to you as well?]

その村むらにもバスは行いっている。[The bus goes to that village as well.]

WILD Examples:

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