に行く means go (somewhere) to do something. You put a verb in front of it, and that verb tells the listener why you are going: 買いに行く (go to buy), 見に行く (go to see), 食べに行く (go to eat).
It is one of the most practical patterns at N5. With it you can talk about errands, weekend plans and invitations in a single short sentence, without learning any “in order to” grammar.
Verb stem + に + 行く: the に here marks a purpose, not a place.
What does に行く mean?
The pattern links two ideas: an action (buying, seeing, eating) and the movement you make to do it. English says “go to buy” or “go and buy”; Japanese says “go for buying.”
The particle に normally marks a destination (学校に行く, go to school). In this pattern it marks the goal of the trip instead. The difference is what comes before に: a place noun gives a destination, a verb stem gives a purpose.
Natural English translations:
- go to [verb] — 水を買いに行きます。 “I’m going to buy water.”
- go and [verb] — 見に行きましょう。 “Let’s go and see.”
- go [verb]-ing — 泳ぎに行きました。 “I went swimming.”
That last one is worth noticing: English “go shopping,” “go swimming,” “go skiing” all map neatly onto this pattern.
How to form に行く
Take the masu-stem of the verb (the part before ます), add に, then add 行く in whatever form you need.
- 買います → 買い + に行く → 買いに行く
- 食べます → 食べ + に行く → 食べに行く
- 見ます → 見 + に行く → 見に行く
- 遊びます → 遊び + に行く → 遊びに行く
Two extras make the pattern more flexible:
Suru-verbs can drop します. For a noun like 勉強 or 買い物, both 勉強しに行く and 勉強に行く are correct. The short version is very common: 買い物に行く (go shopping), 旅行に行く (go on a trip).
The destination goes in front with に or へ. A full sentence is place + へ/に + object を + stem に + 行く: デパートへ靴を買いに行きます. Many speakers use へ for the place so the sentence doesn’t have two に in a row.
The same slot works with 来る and 帰る: 遊びに来てください (come over and hang out), 昼ご飯を食べに帰ります (I’m going home to eat lunch).
When is に行く used?
- Explaining an errand. “Where are you going?” — “I’m going to buy stamps.” The purpose is the whole answer.
- Making plans and invitations. Combine it with ましょう or ませんか: 飲みに行きませんか (want to go for a drink?).
- Reporting what you did. Past tense tells the story of an outing: 海へ泳ぎに行きました.
- Picking someone up. 迎えに行く (go to pick up / meet) is a fixed everyday phrase built on this pattern.
The pattern itself is neutral. 行く is casual, 行きます is polite, and nothing else changes. You’ll hear it in textbooks, in shops, and between friends.
に行く example sentences
In sentence 6, the first に marks the time (Sunday) and the second に marks the purpose (shopping). Same particle, two jobs.
Nuance of に行く
The trip exists for the action. 映画を見に行く says the movie is the reason you are leaving the house. Compare 映画を見て、帰りました (I watched a movie and went home), which just lists events in order.
The action has to be something you choose to do. Only volitional verbs fit before に行く. You can go to buy, eat, study or meet, but you can’t “go to understand” or “go to become tired.” わかりに行く and 疲れに行く are not Japanese.
Movement verbs can’t go in the slot. You don’t say 行きに行く. For “go for a walk” Japanese uses the noun 散歩: 散歩に行く.
行く or 来る? Pick the verb from the speaker's point of view. If you move away from where you are now, use 行く. If someone comes toward you, use 来る: 友だちが遊びに来ました (a friend came over to hang out).
に行く vs へ行く
Beginners mix these up because both use 行く and a particle that can mean “to.” The word in front decides everything.
The two combine in one sentence: 映画館へ映画を見に行きます gives the destination with へ and the purpose with に. For more on how に and へ split the destination job, see に vs へ. The key rule: 見へ行きます is wrong, because へ never takes a verb stem.
Common mistakes with に行く
Is に行く on the JLPT?
Yes. に行く is a standard JLPT N5 grammar point and appears in grammar, reading and listening.
A typical sentence-ordering question gives you pieces like に / 買い / 行きます / パンを and asks which piece fills the starred slot. The fixed order object を → stem → に → 行く solves it.
Practice questions for に行く
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郵便局へきってを買いに行きます。 — I'm going to the post office to buy stamps.
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すしを食べに行きませんか。 — Do you want to go eat sushi?
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昨日、海へ泳ぎに行きました。 — I went swimming at the sea yesterday.
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図書館へ本を借りに行きます。 — I'm going to the library to borrow a book.
Learning path for に行く
Related grammar to review next
- に vs へ — the destination particles that sit next to purpose に in the same sentence.
- ませんか — the polite invitation ending most often attached to に行く.
- たい — uses the same masu-stem: 買いに行く and 買いたい share 買い.
- つもり — lets you say you intend to go somewhere to do something.
Learn に行く with Hane
Hane has you build に行く sentences from real verbs, so masu-stems come quickly. Practice errands, invitations and weekend plans in short sessions on Hane.
FAQ about に行く
What does に行く (ni iku) mean in Japanese?
に行く (ni iku) means “go to do”. It is JLPT N5 grammar. The pattern links two ideas: an action (buying, seeing, eating) and the movement you make to do it. English says “go to buy” or “go and buy”; Japanese says “go for buying.
How do you form に行く (ni iku)?
Take the masu-stem of the verb (the part before ます), add に, then add 行く in whatever form you need.
What is the difference between に行く and へ行く?
Verb stem + に行く: purpose of the trip. Place + へ行く: destination only.
What is an example sentence with に行く (ni iku)?
コンビニへ水を買いに行きます。 — I'm going to the convenience store to buy water.