行く (Iku) Verb - Japanese Focus

The Japanese verb 行く (いく, iku) means “to go.” It is an essential motion verb used in everyday conversation to express movement from one place to another. While it generally means “to go,” it can take on additional meanings and grammatical functions depending on its usage.

Fundamentals of 行く

行く is a godan verb, meaning it follows standard conjugation patterns. It is used to express movement from one place to another and has multiple important variations.

行く as a Standalone Verb

At its core, 行く means “to go,” referring to movement toward a location.

Example Sentences:

東京に行く。
(Tōkyō ni iku.)
"I will go to Tokyo."

いま行く。
(Ima iku.)
"I'm going now."

に行く (ni iku) to Indicate Destination

に行く is commonly used to indicate going to a specific place.

Examples:

学校に行く。
(Gakkō ni iku.)
"I go to school."

友達の家に行く。
(Tomodachi no ie ni iku.)
"I will go to my friend’s house."

ていく (te iku) for Ongoing or Future Actions

The construction ていく is used when describing an action that will continue from now into the future.

Examples:

日本語を勉強していく。
(Nihongo o benkyou shite iku.)
"I will continue studying Japanese."

雨が降っていく。
(Ame ga futte iku.)
"The rain will continue falling."

Conjugation of 行く

Since 行く is a godan verb, it follows regular godan conjugation patterns.

Present Tense – 行く/行きます

The dictionary form is 行く, the polite form to changes 行く to 行きます.

Casual (行く)
仕事に行く。
(Shigoto ni iku.)
"I go to work."

Polite (行きます)
明日東京に行きます。
(Ashita Tōkyō ni ikimasu.)
"I will go to Tokyo tomorrow."

Present Negative – 行かない/行きません

To express negative tense, use 行かないin casual speech and 行きません in polite speech.

Casual (行かない)
あそこに行かない。
(Asoko ni ikanai.)
"I won’t go there."

Polite (行きません)
会社に行きません。
(Kaisha ni ikimasen.)
"I won’t go to the office."

Past Tense – 行った/行きました

To express the past tense, 行く changes to 行った in casual speech and 行きました in polite speech.

Casual (行った)
外国に行った。
(Gaikoku ni itta.)
"I went abroad."

Polite (行きました)
学校に行きました。
(Gakkō ni ikimashita.)
"I went to school."

Past Negative – 行かなかった/行きませんでした

To express past negative, 行く changes to 行かなかった in casual speech and 行きませんでした in polite speech.

Casual (行かなかった)
昨日は会社に行かなかった。
(Kinou wa kaisha ni ikanakatta.)
"I didn’t go to the office yesterday."

Polite (行きませんでした)
会議に行きませんでした。
(Kaigi ni ikimasen deshita.)
"I didn’t go to the meeting."

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