Translation guide
A guide to expressing 'go to' in Japanese, covering physical movement, attendance, direction, and idiomatic uses. The core verb is 行く (iku), but the particle choice and alternative verbs depend on the destination and purpose.
Expressing that someone moves from one location to another.
The most common way to say 'go to a place'. Use に (ni) for a specific destination or へ (e) for direction. 行く (iku) is the basic verb 'to go'.
I go to school.
I go to the station.
Humble form of 行く, used when speaking about your own actions to someone of higher status.
I will go to Tokyo tomorrow. (humble)
Honorific form of 行く, used when referring to someone of higher status going somewhere.
The teacher has already gone to school. (honorific)
Literally 'carry one's feet', meaning to go out of one's way to visit a place, often with effort.
Thank you for going to the trouble of coming all the way here.
Expressing attendance or participation in an event, such as a party, meeting, or class.
Use に to mark the event you are going to attend.
I want to go to a concert.
I go to a meeting.
へ can also be used, but に is more common for events.
Are you going to the party?
Expressing going to where someone is, often for a visit or to meet them.
Use のところに (no tokoro ni) to mean 'to where someone is'. It implies going to their location.
I go to my friend's place.
I went to the teacher.
Literally 'go to meet a person'. This emphasizes the purpose of meeting.
I go to see my girlfriend.
Expressing going somewhere in order to do something.
Use the stem of a verb (the part before ます) plus に to express the purpose of going.
I go shopping.
I go to see a movie.
Some nouns that describe activities can be used directly with に.
I go on a trip.
Expressing that something faces or leads in a certain direction.
向かう (mukau) means 'to head towards' or 'to face'. It is used for direction rather than a specific destination.
I head north.
This road goes to the station.
へ can emphasize the direction of movement.
Common phrases where 'go to' is part of a fixed expression.
Means 'go to school' in the sense of attending school regularly.
I go to school every day.
Means 'go to work'.
My father went to work.
Literally 'go to sleep', meaning to go to bed.
It's time to go to bed.
Means 'go to pick up (someone)'.
I'll go to pick you up at the station.
Both に and へ can mark a destination. に focuses on the specific destination point, while へ emphasizes the direction or path. In many cases they are interchangeable, but に is more common in everyday speech.
In English, 'go to' is used in many phrasal verbs and idioms (e.g., 'go to sleep', 'go to work'). Japanese often uses different verbs or constructions. For example, 'go to bed' is 寝る (neru) rather than 寝に行く, which sounds like you are going somewhere specifically to sleep.