行く

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 学校に行きます。▶ —
   I go to school.
2. 日本へ行きたいです。▶ —
   I want to go to Japan.

Collocations

Mnemonic

いく — 行く, Yamato. A godan verb. The pair to 来る kuru. The kanji 行 pictures a crossroads — paths branching apart — and names the act of walking out. Conjugation mostly follows godan rules, but bends in one place — the te-form should be 行きて by the pattern; it is fixed as 行って instead. That small irregularity sits at the centre of daily greetings — 行ってきます (I'll go and come back): said on the way out. 行ってらっしゃい (go and come back well): the reply from those staying behind. The opening of the day lives in those two lines. The direction takes ~に or ~へ: 学校に行く / 学校へ行く (go to school). The verb maps tightly onto English "go" and Korean 'gada'.

Quick check

1. What is the te-form of 行く?

   • 行って (correct, irregular)
   • 行いて (regular pattern, wrong)
   • 行きて (wrong)
   • 行るて (wrong)