How to Say “I’m Going to…” in Japanese: 〜にいきます for Beginners

To say that you are going somewhere to do something, Japanese commonly uses 〜にいきます (ni ikimasu): go to…. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to say things like “I’m going to eat,” “I’m going shopping,” and “I’m going to see a friend.”

What does it mean?

〜にいきます (ni ikimasu) means “go to do….” You use this pattern when travelling somewhere for a particular purpose: たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu), “I’m going to eat”; かいものにいきます (kaimono ni ikimasu), “I’m going shopping”; or ともだちにあいにいきます (tomodachi ni ai ni ikimasu), “I’m going to see a friend.”

The basic idea is purpose + にいきます (ni ikimasu): go to do something. You can also say where you are going: レストランにたべにいきます (resutoran ni tabe ni ikimasu) means “I’m going to a restaurant to eat.”

Japanese often leaves out “I” when it is already clear that you are talking about yourself.

When would you use it?

Use 〜にいきます (ni ikimasu) when the reason for going somewhere is an activity.

If a friend asks where you are going before lunch, you could say たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu), “I’m going to eat.” When leaving home to shop, say かいものにいきます (kaimono ni ikimasu), “I’m going shopping.” And if you are travelling to meet a friend, say ともだちにあいにいきます (tomodachi ni ai ni ikimasu), “I’m going to see a friend.”

You can use the same idea for hobbies, school, errands and travel. It is especially useful when someone asks why you are going somewhere.

Examples

Start with the three everyday purposes from above. Each one names the activity, then adds にいきます:

1. たべにいきますTabe ni ikimasu.I’m going to eat.
2. かいものにいきますKaimono ni ikimasu.I’m going shopping.
3. ともだちにあいにいきますTomodachi ni ai ni ikimasu.I’m going to see a friend.

Say the first when you are leaving to get a meal, the second to tell friends or family you are leaving to shop, and the third to explain that meeting a friend is the reason you are going out.

The activity can also have its own object. It comes before the action, and the pattern ending stays the same:

1. コーヒーをのみにいきますKoohii o nomi ni ikimasu.I’m going to have coffee.
2. えいがをみにいきますEiga o mi ni ikimasu.I’m going to see a movie.
3. ほんをかいにいきますHon o kai ni ikimasu.I’m going to buy a book.

These tell someone you are going somewhere for coffee, to the cinema for a movie, or to a bookshop or shopping area to buy a book.

To give both the destination and the reason, put the place first:

And the same pattern works in a friendly invitation to a friend, classmate or coworker:

How to make your own sentence

Start with an action you already know in its polite form. These four are a good set to practise with:

たべます (tabemasu): eat.

のみます (nomimasu): drink.

みます (mimasu): see / watch.

かいます (kaimasu): buy.

For these examples, remove ます (masu) to get たべ (tabe), のみ (nomi), み (mi), and かい (kai). Then add にいきます (ni ikimasu): たべにいきます, “I’m going to eat”; のみにいきます, “I’m going to drink”; みにいきます, “I’m going to see or watch”; and かいにいきます, “I’m going to buy.”

A reusable beginner pattern is ます-form without ます + にいきます (ni ikimasu): go to do something. Some activity words can also be used directly, as in かいものにいきます (kaimono ni ikimasu), “I’m going shopping.”

Similar expressions

〜にいきます (ni ikimasu) vs 〜たいです (tai desu)

〜たいです (tai desu) expresses what you want to do: すしをたべたいです (sushi o tabetai desu), “I want to eat sushi.” 〜にいきます (ni ikimasu) says you go somewhere for the purpose of doing something: すしをたべにいきます (sushi o tabe ni ikimasu), “I’m going to eat sushi.”

Wanting to do something does not necessarily mean that you are going somewhere to do it.

〜にいきます (ni ikimasu) vs place + にいきます (ni ikimasu)

Compare スーパーにいきます (suupaa ni ikimasu), “I’m going to the supermarket,” with かいものにいきます (kaimono ni ikimasu), “I’m going shopping.” The first tells us where you are going. The second tells us why you are going.

You can include both ideas: スーパーにかいものにいきます (suupaa ni kaimono ni ikimasu), “I’m going to the supermarket to shop.”

Common mistakes

1. Keeping ます (masu) before にいきます (ni ikimasu)

Not たべますにいきます (tabemasu ni ikimasu), but たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu), “I’m going to eat.” For this pattern, use the part before ます (masu).

2. Using the full simple action form

For this pattern, not たべるにいきます (taberu ni ikimasu), but たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu). Do not simply put にいきます (ni ikimasu) after the form ending in る (ru).

3. Assuming every に (ni) means the same thing

In レストランにいきます (resutoran ni ikimasu), “I go to the restaurant,” に (ni) helps show the destination. In たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu), “I go to eat,” に (ni) helps show the purpose of going. The English translation changes because the surrounding words are doing different jobs.

4. Confusing going to do something with wanting to do something

たべたいです (tabetai desu) means “I want to eat.” たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu) means “I’m going to eat.” Use the second expression only when movement or going somewhere is part of what you mean.

Practise saying it

Say these three lines aloud. Each one ends with the same にいきます:

1. たべにいきますTabe ni ikimasu.I’m going to eat.
2. えいがをみにいきますEiga o mi ni ikimasu.I’m going to see a movie.
3. ともだちにあいにいきますTomodachi ni ai ni ikimasu.I’m going to see a friend.

For the substitution exercise, start with the frame ___ にいきます (___ ni ikimasu), “I’m going to ___.” Fill it with たべ (tabe), eat; のみ (nomi), drink; み (mi), see or watch; or かい (kai), buy.

Then add something before the action: コーヒーをのみにいきます (koohii o nomi ni ikimasu), “I’m going to have coffee.”

In this short role-play, the first question asks where, and the second asks why:

1. AどこにいきますかRomaji: Doko ni ikimasu ka.Meaning: Where are you going?
2. BカフェにいきますRomaji: Kafe ni ikimasu.Meaning: I’m going to a café.
3. AなにをしにいきますかRomaji: Nani o shi ni ikimasu ka.Meaning: What are you going there to do?
4. BコーヒーをのみにいきますRomaji: Koohii o nomi ni ikimasu.Meaning: I’m going to have coffee.

The answer to どこ gives a place with に, and the answer to なにをし gives the purpose with にいきます.

Now answer this personal question:

Try answering with ___ にいきます (___ ni ikimasu): I’m going to ___.

Quick quiz

1. What does たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu) mean?
2. How do you say “I’m going shopping”?
3. Change のみます (nomimasu): drink: into “I’m going to drink.”
4. Which expresses a desire: たべたいです (tabetai desu) or たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu)?
5. Is たべますにいきます (tabemasu ni ikimasu) correct?

Answers

1. たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu): I’m going to eat.
2. かいものにいきます (kaimono ni ikimasu): I’m going shopping.
3. のみにいきます (nomi ni ikimasu): I’m going to drink.
4. たべたいです (tabetai desu): I want to eat.
5. No. Say たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu): I’m going to eat.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “I’m going to eat” in Japanese?

Use たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu), “I’m going to eat.” This means that you are going somewhere for the purpose of eating.

How do you say “I’m going shopping” in Japanese?

Use かいものにいきます (kaimono ni ikimasu), “I’m going shopping.” This is a useful everyday expression for telling someone why you are going out.

How do you say “I’m going to see a movie” in Japanese?

Use えいがをみにいきます (eiga o mi ni ikimasu), “I’m going to see a movie.” Here, み (mi) comes from みます (mimasu): see or watch.

What is the difference between いきます and 〜にいきます?

いきます (ikimasu) simply means “go”: がっこうにいきます (gakkou ni ikimasu), “I go to school.” The purpose pattern tells someone what you are going to do: たべにいきます (tabe ni ikimasu), “I’m going to eat.” You can combine destination and purpose when both are useful.

Can I use this pattern to invite someone?

Yes. A useful invitation is いっしょにたべにいきませんか (issho ni tabe ni ikimasen ka): Would you like to go eat together? This is useful for inviting friends, classmates or coworkers to a meal.

Does 〜にいきます mean the same as English “going to” for the future?

Not always. English “I’m going to study tonight” can simply describe a future plan without physically going anywhere. The Japanese pattern in this lesson specifically involves going somewhere in order to do something.

For example:

カフェにべんきょうしにいきます (kafe ni benkyou shi ni ikimasu): I’m going to a café to study.

Do not automatically translate every English sentence containing “going to” with 〜にいきます (ni ikimasu).

Continue learning

Next, learn 〜にきます (ni kimasu): come to do something: so you can describe someone coming somewhere for a purpose as well as going somewhere.

It is also useful to build more everyday action words through the YapaneseAI vocabulary lessons. Words for eating, shopping, meeting people and hobbies combine naturally with this pattern.

For more Pre-N5 and early-N5 Japanese, continue through the YapaneseAI learning hub.