aspect N4 common casualpolitewritten
〜ていく — (aspect) to go on doing
〜ていく
Builds on て形
Meaning
① moving away: ~ and go / go along ~ing — an action directed away from the speaker
② change into the future: go on ~ing / keep ~ing from now on — a change continuing forward in time
Key sentence
① moving away
子どもが走っていった。
The child ran off.
② change into the future
これから人口は減っていくだろう。
From here on, the population will likely keep declining.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (て-form) | V-て + いく | 歩く → 歩いていく |
Examples
① moving away
傘を持っていったほうがいいよ。
You'd better take an umbrella with you.
鳥が空へ飛んでいった。
The bird flew off into the sky.
② change into the future
これからも日本語を勉強していきたい。
I want to go on studying Japanese from here.
だんだん寒くなっていく。
It's gradually getting colder.
Easily confused with
〜てくる Mirror images. ていく moves away from the speaker or extends a change into the future (増えていく — will go on increasing). てくる moves toward the speaker or traces a change up to now (増えてきた — has been increasing up to now). 〜続ける 続ける is literally repeating one action (走り続ける — keep running). ていく is a gradual trend or directional movement (変わっていく — go on changing), not the repetition of a single act.
Notes
- Written ていく; in casual speech it contracts to てく (やってく, 増えてく).
See 〜ていく in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ていく the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Editorial confidence: medium.