N5 · Verbs
Going somewhere to do something
the ます-stem with に and いく, くる or かえる
The ます-stem plus に before a verb of motion says what you are going, coming or returning to do.
At a glance
- Remember
- Stem plus に, then いく, くる or かえる: かいにいく, みにくる.
- Form
- 買いに行くgo to buy
- Signal words
- 〜に行く
- 〜に来る
- 〜に帰る
- 買い物に
- Trap
- Wrong:デパートへ服を買うに行きます。Right:デパートへ服を買いに行きます。
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Japanese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending auxiliary verb
| go to buy | 買いに行く |
| go to see | 見に行く |
| come to meet | 会いに来る |
| go home to eat | 食べに帰る |
| go to play | 遊びに行く |
| go to study | 勉強しに行く |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The ます-stem plus に goes before いく, くる or かえる.
友達と映画を見に行きます。I am going to see a film with a friend.
The place comes first, the purpose right before the verb of motion.
駅へ友達を迎えに行きました。I went to the station to meet a friend.
A noun for an activity can take に directly.
日曜日に買い物に行きます。I am going shopping on Sunday.
くる says that somebody comes here to do something.
母が日本へ遊びに来ます。My mother is coming to Japan for a visit.
Example sentences
コンビニへ飲み物を買いに行きます。I am going to the convenience store to buy a drink.
週末、海へ泳ぎに行きました。At the weekend I went to the sea for a swim.
田中さんが家に遊びに来ました。Mr Tanaka came round to visit.
昼休みに家へご飯を食べに帰ります。In my lunch break I go home to eat.
来年、日本へ日本語を勉強しに行きたいです。Next year I want to go to Japan to study Japanese.
一緒に散歩に行きませんか。Would you like to go for a walk together?
7 more example sentences
公園へ写真を撮りに行きます。I am going to the park to take photos.
郵便局へ切手を買いに行きました。I went to the post office to buy stamps.
忘れ物を取りに帰りました。I went back home to get something I had forgotten.
明日、修理の人がエアコンを見に来ます。Tomorrow the repair man is coming to look at the air conditioner.
友達と飲みに行こうよ。Let's go for a drink with our friends.
毎週土曜日にプールへ泳ぎに行きます。Every Saturday I go to the pool for a swim.
何をしに来ましたか。What have you come to do?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "go to buy" has the bare verb, and the dictionary form looks like the bare verb. But before this に Japanese wants the ます-stem, the same piece that stands before ます: 買います → 買いに.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
To say why you are going somewhere, take the ます-form, drop ます, and add に before 行く, 来る or 帰る: 買い物をしに行きます, "I am going shopping"; 昼ご飯を食べに帰ります, "I am going home to have lunch". The stem is the same one that comes before ます and たい.
The place usually comes first, with に or へ, and the purpose sits directly before the verb of motion: 図書館へ本を借りに行きます, "I am going to the library to borrow a book". The object of the purpose keeps its own particle, here を.
With a する-noun the noun itself can stand before に: 勉強しに行く and 勉強に行く both mean "go to study". The same works with nouns for activities: 買い物に行く, 散歩に行く, 旅行に行く.
English says "go to do" with an infinitive, and learners try the dictionary form: 買うに行く. That does not exist. Only the stem goes before this に, and only with a verb of moving somewhere; for purpose in general — "I save money to buy a car" — Japanese uses ために, which comes later.
A closer look
Only with a verb of motion
This に marks the goal of a journey, the same particle that marks a destination. That is why it only works with verbs that move somebody somewhere: 行く, 来る, 帰る, and a few more such as 出かける and 戻る.
For any other purpose — "I work to earn money", "I got up early to catch the train" — the verb is not a journey, and Japanese uses ために or ように instead. A learner who notices that the English "to" means "in order to" and not "towards" is looking at the point where this pattern stops.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is a する-verb made from a noun
both 勉強しに and 勉強に are correct; with nouns that already name an outing, such as 旅行 or 散歩, the short form is the usual one.
夏休みに家族と旅行に行きました。In the summer holidays I went on a trip with my family.
The noun names the activity on its own, so し adds nothing a listener would miss.
Worth knowing (1)
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With たい and ませんか
Because the verb of motion is the verb at the end, everything that changes the sentence goes on it: 見に行きたい, "want to go and see"; 見に行きませんか, "shall we go and see?". The stem before に never changes.
一緒に花火を見に行きませんか。Shall we go and see the fireworks together?
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