〜に行く: Going Somewhere To Do Something (Purpose)
Motion with a mission
At heart this pattern answers why someone is moving. It bolts an action — the purpose — onto a motion verb: 行く (go), 来る (come), or 帰る (return). The に in the middle means "in order to," so 食べに行く isn't "go and eat" as two loose events; it's "go for the purpose of eating."
The purpose comes from the verb's ます-stem (the part left when you strip off ます), and the place you're heading to gets marked separately with へ or に.
ヤッタンは映画を見に行きます。
ヤッタンは えいがを みに いきます。
Yattan is going to watch a movie.
見ます → 見, then 見に行く.
モチは昼ごはんを食べに来ました。
モチは ひるごはんを たべに きました。
Mochi came to eat lunch.
先生は本を返しに行きました。
せんせいは ほんを かえしに いきました。
The teacher went to return a book.
Dropping ます before に
The build is short: take the ます-stem of the action verb, add に, then a motion verb. So 見ます loses ます to become 見, and you get 見に行く. The table below runs the same move across a few verbs.
| Action | ます-stem | + に + motion | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 見る (watch) | 見 | 見に行く | go to watch |
| 食べる (eat) | 食べ | 食べに行く | go to eat |
| 買う (buy) | 買い | 買いに来る | come to buy |
| 勉強する (study) | 勉強し | 勉強しに行く | go to study |
| 買い物（する） | — | 買い物に行く | go shopping |
The bottom two rows preview the する split covered below: 勉強しに行く keeps the し stem, while 買い物に行く drops する entirely and treats 買い物 as a plain noun. Both are correct and common.
Swapping in 来る and 帰る
Nothing about the pattern changes when you switch the direction of travel — 行く, 来る, and 帰る all take the purpose the same way. Only the point of view moves: 行く heads away, 来る heads toward the speaker, and 帰る heads back home.
ヤッタンは公園へ遊びに行きます。
ヤッタンは こうえんへ あそびに いきます。
Yattan is going to the park to play.
Place + へ marks the destination.
弟が宿題を聞きに来ました。
おとうとが しゅくだいを ききに きました。
My little brother came to ask about the homework.
ヤッタンの弟はごはんを食べに帰ります。
ヤッタンの おとうとは ごはんを たべに かえります。
Yattan's little brother is going home to eat.
帰る = return; the purpose still rides on 〜に.
When the purpose is a する-noun
A lot of everyday activities are a noun plus する — 勉強する, 買い物（をする）. With these you have two clean options: keep the し stem of する, or, when the word stands on its own as a noun, attach に straight to the noun. The noun-only version often feels the most natural.
モチはスーパーへ買い物に行きました。
モチは スーパーへ かいものに いきました。
Mochi went shopping at the supermarket.
ヤッタンは図書館に勉強しに行きます。
ヤッタンは としょかんに べんきょうしに いきます。
Yattan is going to the library to study.
勉強しに行く keeps the し stem; place marked with に.
Three traps that keep tripping learners
Most errors with this pattern come down to four reflexes worth unlearning:
- Reaching for the dictionary form before に. It must be the ます-stem: 見に行く (✓), not ×見るに行く. Drop the ます first.
- Mis-marking the action's object. The thing you act on still takes を: 映画を見に行く. The に belongs to the purpose, not the object.
- Forgetting し with suru-verbs. "Go to study" is 勉強しに行く, not ×勉強に行く. (But the standalone noun 買い物 takes に: 買い物に行く.)
- Blurring purpose に with destination に. 学校に行く is "go to school" (place); 食べに行く is "go to eat" (purpose). You can even stack both: 学校へ勉強しに行く.
The short version
- ます-stem + に + 行く/来る/帰る = go/come/return in order to do something.
- Drop ます from the action verb, then add に: 見ます → 見に行く.
- Suru-nouns: 勉強しに行く, or the noun alone — 買い物に行く.
- The destination takes へ or に; the object of the action keeps を.
- Never use the dictionary form before this に.
Practice it
Choose the correct ます-stem + に + motion verb form.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
ヤッタンは映画を＿＿＿行きます。
Frequently asked questions
Why is it 見に行く and not 見るに行く?
This に attaches to the ます-stem, not the dictionary form. Take 見ます, drop ます to get 見, then add に行く: 見に行く. Using 見る here is the most common beginner mistake.
What particle marks the place I'm going to?
Use へ or に on the destination: 公園へ遊びに行く or 図書館に勉強しに行く. Both へ and に work for the place; the purpose still rides on the separate 〜に.
How do I use this with する verbs like 勉強する?
Keep the し stem: 勉強しに行く ('go to study'). For activities that are also plain nouns, like 買い物, you can drop する entirely: 買い物に行く.
Does the object still take を?
Yes. The thing you act on keeps を even inside this pattern: 映画を見に行く ('go to watch a movie'). The に marks the purpose, not the object.
Where 〜に行く fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜ます · N5 — 〜ます is the polite verb ending. Learn ます (non-past), ません (negative), ました (past), and ませんでした (past negative), how to build the stem, and when to be polite.
Don't confuse it with
- 〜たい · N5 — 〜たい attaches to a verb stem to say what you want to do. Learn the formation, why it conjugates like an i-adjective, the が/を switch, how to talk about other people's wants (たがる), and see 12 examples.
Once this clicks, go on to
- に vs へ · N5 — に and へ both mark where you're going: 学校に行く / 学校へ行く. Learn the small nuance, why へ is read 'e', and how に also marks points in time like 7時に.
More N5 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- を — を marks the direct object of a verb (パンを食べる), the path you move along (道を歩く), and the place you leave (家を出る). Learn all three uses with examples.
- 〜ように — 〜ように means 'so that ~' — an aim you can't fully control: 忘れないようにメモする. Learn the formation with potential and negative verbs, and how it differs from 〜ために.
- まだ — まだ means 'still' with a positive verb and 'not yet' with 〜ていない. Learn both uses, the one-word answer, and how まだ differs from もう.
- もう — もう means 'already' with a positive verb (もう食べた), 'not anymore' with a negative (もう食べない), and 'one more' with numbers (もう一杯). Pairs with まだ.
- 〜ている — 〜ている has two big jobs: an ongoing action ('is doing') and a continuing state ('is in a state'). Learn when it means which, how to form it, and see clear examples.
- 〜あとで — 〜あとで means 'after' doing something: past-form verb + あとで (ご飯を食べたあとで) or noun + のあとで (授業のあとで). Learn the た-form rule and how it differs from 前に.