connective N5 essential casualpolitewritten
〜に行く — go to do ~ (purpose)
〜に行く ・ にいく
Builds on 連用形（ます形）
Meaning
- go (somewhere) in order to do ~ — に marks the purpose of a trip
Key sentence
図書館に本を借りに行く。
I'm going to the library to borrow a book.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (ます-stem) | V-stem + に + 行く/来る/帰る | 食べる → 食べに行く |
| Suru-noun | N + に + 行く | 買い物に行く (go shopping) |
Examples
公園に遊びに行こう。
Let's go to the park to play.
駅まで友だちを迎えに行った。
I went to the station to pick up a friend.
日本へ日本語を勉強しに来た。
I came to Japan to study Japanese.
When you can't use it
- The verb before に must be the ます-stem, not the dictionary form: 見に行く ✓, ×見るに行く. Only motion verbs (行く・来る・帰る) close the pattern.
Easily confused with
See 〜に行く in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜に行く the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.