Translation guide
The phrasal verb "go into" has several distinct meanings. This guide covers the most common uses for English-speaking learners of Japanese, organized by meaning.
To physically enter a building, room, or enclosed space.
The most common verb for entering a place. Note that it is intransitive and takes the particle に.
I go into the room.
He went into the store.
Emphasizes the action of going into a place, often from the speaker's perspective. Combines 入る (enter) and いく (go).
He went into the building.
Means to enter, often with a nuance of stepping into a place, sometimes used in formal or prohibitive contexts.
No entry except for authorized personnel.
To start talking about or examining a topic in detail.
Literally 'start talking about ~'. A natural way to express beginning to discuss a topic.
He went into the problem.
Used metaphorically to mean entering a topic or phase. Often used with words like 詳細 (details) or 本題 (main subject).
Means to touch upon or briefly go into a topic. Often used when not going into deep detail.
Literally 'dig down', meaning to go deeply into a subject. Used for in-depth discussion.
To start a career or become involved in a particular area of work.
Literally 'enter the field of ~'. A straightforward way to express starting a career.
He went into law.
Means 'become a ~'. Often more natural than 'go into' when referring to a specific profession.
She went into medicine. (She became a doctor.)
Means to advance into a field, often used for academic or career paths.
I plan to go into graduate school.
To describe resources being spent or devoted to something.
Passive form of 費やす (to spend). Used when time, effort, or money goes into something.
A lot of time went into this project.
Means to put (effort, money, time) into something. Often used with 努力 (effort) or お金 (money).
A lot of effort went into that work. (He put a lot of effort into that work.)
Passive of 注ぎ込む (to pour into). Emphasizes a large amount of resources being poured into something.
To crash into something, typically used for vehicles.
To enter a state such as shock, a coma, or hysterics.
Do not directly translate 'go into' as 行く (iku) + に (ni) for most meanings. 行く means to go to a location, not to enter, discuss, or invest. Use the specific verbs and phrases listed above.
入る (hairu) is intransitive (something/someone enters). 入れる (ireru) is transitive (to put something in). For 'go into', use 入る. Example: 部屋に入る (enter the room) vs. 部屋に物を入れる (put things into the room).
Before going into details, I'll explain the outline.
Let's go into the main subject.
I will just briefly go into that point.
We need to go into this issue more deeply.
A huge amount of money went into this research.
トラックが店に突っ込んだ。
A truck went into the store.