Translation guide
A guide to expressing 'go to' in Japanese, covering physical movement, attendance, direction, and idiomatic uses. The core verb is 行く (iku), but the particle choice and alternative verbs depend on the destination and purpose.
Expressing that someone moves from one location to another.
Humble form of 行く, used when speaking about your own actions to someone of higher status.
明日、東京に参ります。
I will go to Tokyo tomorrow. (humble)
Honorific form of 行く, used when referring to someone of higher status going somewhere.
先生はもう学校にいらっしゃいました。
The teacher has already gone to school. (honorific)
Literally 'carry one's feet', meaning to go out of one's way to visit a place, often with effort.
わざわざ足を運んでいただき、ありがとうございます。
Thank you for going to the trouble of coming all the way here.
Expressing attendance or participation in an event, such as a party, meeting, or class.
Use に to mark the event you are going to attend.
コンサートに行きたい。
I want to go to a concert.
会議に行く。
I go to a meeting.
へ can also be used, but に is more common for events.
パーティーへ行きますか？
Are you going to the party?
Expressing going to where someone is, often for a visit or to meet them.
Use のところに (no tokoro ni) to mean 'to where someone is'. It implies going to their location.
友達のところに行く。
I go to my friend's place.
先生のところへ行きました。
I went to the teacher.
Literally 'go to meet a person'. This emphasizes the purpose of meeting.
彼女に会いに行く。
I go to see my girlfriend.
Expressing going somewhere in order to do something.
Use the stem of a verb (the part before ます) plus に to express the purpose of going.
買い物に行く。
I go shopping.
映画を見に行きます。
I go to see a movie.
Some nouns that describe activities can be used directly with に.
旅行に行く。
I go on a trip.
Expressing that something faces or leads in a certain direction.
向かう (mukau) means 'to head towards' or 'to face'. It is used for direction rather than a specific destination.
北に向かう。
I head north.
この道は駅に向かっています。
This road goes to the station.
へ can emphasize the direction of movement.
東へ行く。
I go east.
Common phrases where 'go to' is part of a fixed expression.
Means 'go to school' in the sense of attending school regularly.
毎日学校に行く。
I go to school every day.
Means 'go to work'.
父は仕事に行きました。
My father went to work.
Literally 'go to sleep', meaning to go to bed.
もう寝に行く時間だ。
It's time to go to bed.
Means 'go to pick up (someone)'.
駅まで迎えに行くよ。
I'll go to pick you up at the station.
Both に and へ can mark a destination. に focuses on the specific destination point, while へ emphasizes the direction or path. In many cases they are interchangeable, but に is more common in everyday speech.
In English, 'go to' is used in many phrasal verbs and idioms (e.g., 'go to sleep', 'go to work'). Japanese often uses different verbs or constructions. For example, 'go to bed' is 寝る (neru) rather than 寝に行く, which sounds like you are going somewhere specifically to sleep.